


That Arrogant Nerf Herder!

by KingSkywalker7



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Jedi Finn (Star Wars), Jedi Rey (Star Wars), Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingSkywalker7/pseuds/KingSkywalker7
Summary: He had only been here for about two months but if there was one thing that Rey was certain about Finn Usherea, it was that she didn’t like him. She didn’t like him one bit. And It wasn’t because he was a bad person or wasn’t doing well in training. No, it was quite the opposite.Rey is used to being the star pupil at the Jedi Academy. That is until, Finn showed up and started to upstage her. Which is something that Rey simply can't take lying down.A FinnRey AU about these two peanuts growing up as Jedi together.
Relationships: Finn/Rey (Star Wars), Leia Organa/Han Solo
Comments: 38
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

As he stared out at the current crop of padawans, Luke Skywalker couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride well up inside his chest. While there was still much for them to learn, he got the feeling that these younglings would turn out to be some of the best Jedi he had ever had the fortune to teach. And with a new student having arrived just this morning, that feeling only grew stronger. With that thought in mind, he cleared his throat before raising his voice.

“Students gather around. I have an announcement,” he called out. One by one, all of the younglings gathered in the middle of the auditorium. 

“I wanted to inform you all that there will be a new student joining us today. I expect you to be on your best behavior and to make him feel welcomed. Finn, come on out and introduce yourself.”

Finn walked out from the back, the nervous butterflies that had already settled in his stomach growing bigger as he gazed out into the eyes of his now fellow classmates, all staring directly at him. And while he wasn’t averse to attention, it was still uncomfortable to have so many eyes focused on him. Trying to shake it off, he stepped up next to Lu-Master Skywalker now, and started to talk, hoping he didn’t sound half as nervous as he felt.

“Ummm hi. My name is Finn. Finn Usherea. It’s nice to meet you. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone better and hopefully we can all be friends.”

He was thankful to see those sentiments returned in the smiles everyone sent back as well as the collective “It’s nice to meet you to Finn,” that they replied in turn with.

“Well spoken Finn. All right everyone, since Finn just arrived, I’m going to do you all a favor and cancel training for today” Luke was forced to pause as a cheer rang out. Shaking his head in amusement, he continued. “However, don’t take that as an excuse to slack off. You all could stand to benefit from doing some light work and meditation on your own. We will be starting bright early tomorrow as well so don’t stay up too late. Dismissed. Rey, could you come here for a moment?”

Finn watched as the rest of students got up and left, leaving only one girl behind to walk up to them. She was about his height, with brown hair that was tied up into three buns, a hairstyle Finn hadn’t seen anywhere else. With a pair of bright brown eyes to complete the look. She was the epitome of what Finn would call cute. He quickly tried to control the blush that came to his face at that thought. This was definitely not the time.

“Finn, I would like you to meet Rey. She is one of my best students. And she happens to be my daughter and my little bundle of sunshine.”

“Daaaaddd,” the now named Rey whined out. A blush of embarrassment on her face. “I told you not to call me that.”

Luke brought a hand to his face, rubbing his beard as he thought about her suggestion, before shrugging, a grin spreading across his face.

“Nope. Still gonna call you that.”

Finn laughed as he watched Rey pout at Luke, clearly not happy with the turn of events.

“Anyway, Rey I want you to show Finn around the academy. Make sure he knows where everything is. I’m giving him the bunk across from yours as well. Finn, if you ever need anything and you can’t find me, ask Rey. I’m sure she’ll be able to help. I’m going to have you guys working together a lot, at least for the first few months here until we can get Finn up to speed. Understood?”

“Yes, Master,” they chorused out.

“Great! I’ll leave you two to it then.” He walked off, leaving Finn and Rey alone.

They stared awkwardly at one another, neither one sure exactly how to proceed. It was Rey who finally decided to break the silence.  
“Sooo…how about I show where your bunk is and then we head to the kitchen? You must be hungry.”

Finn stared down at his stomach before looking up with a small smile. She was right. A little food would do nicely. 

“Sure”

Rey nodded before walking away, signaling Finn to follow her. As he did, Finn felt a thin layer of ease settle over him. While he was still a bit unsure about how he would fit in, he couldn’t help feeling that maybe things would all right.

He had only been here for about two months but if there was one thing that Rey was certain about Finn Usherea, it was that she didn’t like him. She didn’t like him one bit. And It wasn’t because he was a bad person or wasn’t doing well in training. No, it was quite the opposite.

Everybody liked Finn. And she meant everybody. And why wouldn’t they. He was terribly nice, always polite to everyone he interacted with. Always with a friendly smile plastered on his face. And he absolutely excelled during training.

This was where Rey first felt her dislike of Finn come in to play. It wasn’t even that bad at first. She was used to being the best in class. Being the daughter of the Luke Skywalker had certainly helped in that regard. But despite that it, Rey had always tried her best to never feel as though she was entitled to anything. That being said, she couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous at the ease with which Finn seemed to grasp using the Force. He was easily the fastest at learning new force powers and it wasn’t unusual to find him floating in the air while he meditated, any number of small objects circling him.

Pretty soon, the other kids in the class started going up to Finn and asking him if he had any tips. Rey couldn’t count the number of time someone had come up to her, asking is she “knew where Finn was,” or if she could “ask Finn if he would mind helping me after class.” It got annoying very quickly.

Things came to a head, however, one day while they were sparing. While Rey could admit that she wasn’t quite the best when it came to Force powers, she had no equal when it came to saber fighting. She had never lost a fight in the entire time she had been at the Academy. But Rey had never been paired up with Finn since he joined.

On this particular day, her father decided that that needed to be rectified. They were all seated off to the side of the training room when Luke called out her and Finn.

“Rey. Finn. You guys are up.”

Rey glanced over at Finn to see him looking over with a small smile. A smile that Rey found was really annoying to her at the moment. Getting up, she walked up to Luke, grabbing one of the wooden sticks in his hands. They hadn’t yet built their lightsabers and even if they had, there was still some growing and learning to be done before they could be trusted to spar with them. 

She watched as Finn walked up and grabbed the other one, her father stepping back to give them space. Rey gave the customary salute that they always did before beginning. Finn returned it. A shout of “Begin!” from Luke was all Rey needed before she was on Finn, a flurry of attacks aimed at disarming her opponent quickly. Finn was on the back foot in an instant, clearly not having expected an all out rush.

Rey aimed her stick at his feet, hoping to undercut him. Finn was able to jump over it but he was quickly forced to block the overhead strike that followed, wincing as he felt the force behind the strike. She was strong. Freakishly strong. Disengaging, he tried to back up so that he could catch his breath but Rey wouldn’t let him, her weapon already aiming for his side before he even had a chance to think of a plan of attack.

Their fight continued like this for a while. Rey constantly attacking and Finn doing his best to defend from the onslaught.

As he deflected her strike once again, Finn noticed the sheen of sweat on Rey’s forehead as well as her heavy breathing. 

“She’s getting tired,” he thought to himself, his mind already calculating how to use that to his advantage.

“How have I not beaten him yet,” Rey thought to herself, chest heaving as she tried to get air back into her lungs. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t seem to break down his defense. Usually, most of her fights ended rather quickly. No one could keep up with the furious assault for long. Eventually their defense shattered and Rey was able to disarm them. But Finn was different. And she was on her last legs. Raising her makeshift blade, she charged forward, intent on finishing the fight once and for all.

They exchanged blows once again, Finn’s defense just as stout as it had been. Rey on the other hand, was slowly getting sloppier and angrier, her frustration boiling over. It was this state of mind that led to her overextending on a thrust aim at Finn’s midsection. Spinning away just as she thought she caught him, Rey watched helplessly as Finn swung his staff at her legs, sending her flipping over and on to her back. Her stick flew out of her hands and before she could even process what happened, Finn’s stick was pointing down in her face.

“Yield.” he commanded.

Rey glared up at him for a few seconds before she let her head fall back onto the bat below her.

“I yield,” she gritted out, watching as Finn pulled his weapon back, smile back on his face as he offered her his hand. She begrudgingly accepted his help, grimacing a bit as she got up. Those mats didn’t offer nearly as much padding one might’ve thought.

“Well done my young padawans! Well done.” Luke said as he walked back over them, clapping and smiling. To which their fellow students quickly followed suit, cheering for both of them. Luke let this go on for a bit before settling everyone down.

“That was impressive you two. I’m glad to see that you’ve been working hard on your skills.” he said before looking at Rey.

“Rey, your speed and strength are fantastic. Not many would be able to keep up an assault like that. However, as I’m sure you noticed, there’s a fatal flaw in the way you fight. If your opponent has a good defense, then you risk tiring yourself out. And a tired mind makes mistakes. You’ll need to learn to conserve your energy sometimes ok.”

Rey kept her eyes down, cheeks red with embarrassment as she nodded. 

“And Finn,” he turned, “your defense was great. It reminds me of my old master. You noticed how Rey fought and came up with a strategy to combat it. But keep in my mind that you won’t always be able to rely on an opponent tiring themselves out. You may not have the time to wait or the requisite skill to take advantage of a mistake like that with a more experienced opponent. Understood?”

“Yes Master,” Finn replied.

“Wonderful. Ok class, that will be all for today, You are dismissed.”

The rest of class filed out, excitedly murmuring about what they had just witnessed. Rey made to follow them but she was stopped by Finn.

“Hey Rey.” She turned back to look at him. “That was a really good fight. You’re pretty good.

Rey gave a very tight lipped smile. He had humiliated her in front of everyone and he was acting like it wasn’t even a big deal. She could feel the grip she normally had on her emotions slipping.

“Thanks. You too.”

“And If you want, I could spar with you more often. Outside of class. Help you sharpen up your technique.”

Now when Finn said this, he meant it to sound like a sincere, genuine favor. One friend helping out another. Really two friends helping each other out. Unfortunately for Finn, that was not what Rey heard. In her mind, all she could hear was smugness and, dare she say it, pity. The fine wire that had been keeping her anger tied down snapped. That arrogant nerf herder. 

“Oh so you think you’re better than me is that it?” she yelled at Finn.

Finn’s smile quickly dropped from his face. That was not the response he thought he would get

“What? No, that’s not what I’’m saying. I just thought…”

“That I’m just some little damsel in distress then? Too weak to help herself?” She asked, walking right up into his face.

“Not at all! I don’t think you’re weak Rey,” Finn held his hands up trying to placate her.

“You got that right!” She poked him in the chest, forcing Finn to back up. And I’ll prove it to you next time. I’m gonna mop the floor with you. Then we’ll see who needs to ‘Sharpen up their technique’. You’d better be prepared.” By this point, Rey had backed him all the way to the wall. Finn whimpered as Rey gave him one last hard look before walking away. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he watched her leave. That girl was scary.

Rey stomped out of the training room, intending to head to the kitchen before deciding to change course back to her bunk. The last thing she wanted to do was to hear the rest of the class gushing over how Finn had bested her. 

Finn Usherea. Nope. Rey didn’t like him one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, KingSkywalker7 here!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of this story. I think the idea of Finn and Rey being rivals as young Jedi in training is both amazing and hilarious. Especially when Finn's just trying to be nice and yet he inadvertently manages to anger Rey.
> 
> This will be a short story. There'll probably be no more than 3 or 4 chapters total. I'm currently working on Chapter 2 which I hope to have out on either Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime, let me know what you think on this first one! And if any of you guys have some story ideas you might want me to take a crack at, please let me know! I'm always looking for inspiration :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter 2. This chapter includes the wonderful best friend that is Poe Dameron as well as setting up the next chapter of the story. Hope you guys enjoy it.

It had been a long and yet simultaneously short 5 years for Finn since he had joined the Jedi Academy. He had grown both physically and mentally and his connection to the Force had never felt stronger.

Currently, he was back home visiting his parents for a couple of weeks. While Luke trained them hard, he always made sure to schedule time for the students to rest. This included giving them time off to visit family. Time that Finn gladly took advantage of. Sitting outside by the small lake next to his home, he was able to forget about the aches and pains that he had accrued over the last few months and just take in the wonderful fresh air.

Before he could get too comfortable however, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw the familiar visage of his best friend Poe Dameron, a trademark easygoing smile on his face as he approached. Standing up, he greeted him with hug, Poe’s hands patting him on the back as a laugh escaped his mouth.

“Finn! How ya been buddy? What’s it been, 2 years since I saw you?” he asked, releasing Finn from his grasp and taking a seat in the other chair.

“Poe I was just here like 3 months ago. Remember? You decided you wanted to try riding a Varactyl and it bucked you right into the water?”

That earned him a glare from Poe. “I thought we agreed to never mention that again?”

“I made no such promises. That story got quite a few laughs back at the Academy.”

Poe’s glare turned into a pout as Finn laughed at him. It wasn’t his fault. That Varactyl was clearly just in a bad mood when Poe approached it. He conveniently ignored the fact that Finn had had absolutely no trouble when he tried. 

“Traitor. But seriously, how have you been? Training going ok?”

“It’s more than just ok. It’s amazing! I’ve been learning so much. There’s just nothing quite like meditating in a forest and being able to feel _everything_. To feel the life teeming in your surroundings. It’s kind of hard to explain if you can’t use the Force but I swear Poe, it’s one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever experienced.”

Poe smiled softly as he watched Finn go on about what it was like to be trained by Luke Skywalker. Finn had always been a very expressive person but Poe wasn’t sure he had ever seen him this happy.

“…and Master Luke said that when I got back he would teach me how to use a Mind Trick on someone. That's so cool. I could make you do anything embarrassing thing I want Poe.”

“But you would never do that Finn. You wouldn’t hang your best buddy out to dry like that right...? Right?”

The smirk on his face did not give Poe any comfort at all. Shivering internally at the thought of Finn having that kind of power, Poe tried to quickly steer the conversation away from that train of thought.

“How’s the whole Rey thing going?”

The smirk on Finn’s face dropped to a frown as he thought about the brown haired girl. Ever since that fateful spar, he and Rey had been at odds. Though, he thought it was far more accurate to say she was at odds with him. She was always competing with him. Learning force powers, finishing the obstacle courses Luke had them run. Hell, he was pretty sure she made it a goal of hers to always beat him to their morning training sessions, no matter that she was notoriously not a morning person. It was pretty exhausting when he thought about it.

“Yeah no real change on that front. You know we were getting better up until recently.”

“Really?” Poe asked incredulously.

“Yeah. She wasn’t glaring at me all the time and once I even offered her some advice and she didn’t go off or call me a ‘nerf herder.’ Still not sure what that means. Anyway, I figured that maybe we were finally starting to become friends.”

“What changed?”

“Wellll…” Finn rubbed the back of his head as he thought about that.

_Flashback_

_Finn had been taking one of his many walks through the forest that surrounded The Academy. It was one of the things he did when he wanted a little more peace and quiet as well as some time to himself. There was a clearing not too far in where he liked to sit and meditate. An hour spent there, surrounded by Life and the Force, was the perfect thing for him to clear his mind and come up with answers for any dilemma he might have. Which brought him to the source of his current issue._

_Recently, his relationship with Rey had been improving. While he wouldn’t say that she liked him, she was certainly more tolerable of him. And Finn wanted to ensure the trajectory of their relationship kept going up. Hopefully, they could even be friends at some point. The problem was, he wasn’t sure how to do that. He had been thinking through this problem when he noticed the presence of a peculiar flower hidden behind some bushes. Walking over and brushing them aside, he noticed a bed of brilliantly shaded purple flowers. He recalled that he heard Rey talking about how much she loved flowers because she never got to see many growing up. With that in mind, he managed to pluck a few, intending to give them to Rey._

_Every step he took towards her bunk came with a nervous excitement. He was sure Rey would appreciate the flowers and this might be the first step to them actually being friends. Arriving at the door to her bunk, Finn knocked three times, his entire face lit up with a wide toothy grin on it, flowers held behind his back. That was the sight Rey was greeted by when she opened the door._

_“Finn, what are you doing? And why are you smiling like that?” she asked._

_“Umm I was out in the forest and well…” he paused to bring the purple flowers from behind his back. “ I saw these and I know that you love flowers and I thought these were really pretty and I thought of you when I saw them so I uhh…plucked a few for you.” He finished, holding them out towards her._

_She stared at them for a little bit before slowly reaching out grab them and bring them up to her face, closing her eyes and breathing them in. She let out a sigh of content. They smelled amazing. Opening her eyes, she shot Finn a wonderful smile. A small blush accompanied it. Finn had only ever seen that smile a handful of times and it was never directed at him. But it never failed to make his heart stop for a split second._

_“Thank you Finn. They’re amazing!”_

_He rubbed his arm nervously, feeling very bashful at the praise. “Oh it’s no big deal.”_

_“It is to me. I really appreciate these. They're so beautiful”_

_He beamed at that._

_“You’re welcome. I’m gonna go uhh get ready for bed. Been a long day. But I’ll uh see you tomorrow?”_

_“Yeah. See you tomorrow. Goodnight Finn”_

_“Goodnight Rey.”_

_Finn watched her slowly close the door before turning around and heading into his own bunk. He cleaned himself off in the fresher and changed into his sleeping attire before getting into bed. It was quite some time before his eyes finally closed and he drifted off to sleep, mind occupied with the wonderful image of Rey smiling, all because of him._

_Finn was woken up rather suddenly by the furious knocking on his door by someone. Scrambling out of bed, he hurried to the door. As he did, he became that person outside wasn’t just knocking, but also yelling quite loud, and angrily._

_“FINN! Get out here now!_

_Opening the door, Finn was greeted by the sight of Rey, looking angrier then he had ever seen, scratching rather incessantly at a rash on her arm. A rash that he quickly noticed wasn’t the only restricted to that one spot. In fact, Rey was covered in dark red rashes, all the way up to her neck. And they looked quite painful._

_“Rey, what happened to you?”_

_“Oh don’t act like you don’t know! You planned this didn’t you?”_

_“P-Planned. Rey what are you talking about?”_

_“Those stupid flowers you gave me! I had an allergic reaction to them.”_

_Finn’s eyes widened in shock. “Really?”_

_“Yes really!”_

_“Oh Force. I’m so sorry Rey!”_

_“Oh please. Spare me the fake apology. This was payback wasn’t?”_

_“Payback?”_

_“What, couldn’t handle the fact that I beat you in the obstacle course race huh? ”_

_“W-what? Rey I don’t care that you…”_

_“Of course you couldn’t stand it. You always have to be the best don’t you?”_

_Finn could only stare, mouth wide open in shock, as Rey laid into him._

_“Now thanks to you, I’m gonna have to spend the rest of the week cooped up in the Medbay. I’m gonna get you back for this Usherea. Just you wait!”_

_With that, she turned and walked into her room, slamming door shut with such force that it was a wonder that it didn’t break. Wincing at the sound, Finn was left with only the thought of how his plan had gone so wrong._

_Flashback end_

By the time Finn had finished his story, Poe had a rather large grimace on his face.

“Ouch. That’s not good.”

“Tell me about it. After that, she’s been even colder to me then she was when we first met. What did I do wrong Poe? I just wanna be her friend.”

“Well buddy, I don’t know much about women, but I do know that you shouldn’t give them poisonous flowers.”

“They weren’t poisonous!”

“Yeah yeah. Second, you really need to stop with this whole ‘I just wanna be her friend shtick’. I know a guy in love when I see it.

Finn blushed but he quickly tried to deny it.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. There is no logical reason for me to be in love with someone who so clearly hates my guts.”

“That’s the thing buddy. Love doesn’t need logic. In fact, I would say most of the time logic only gets in the way. So you gotta ignore it, and just go with what you feel.”

“Since when did you become an expert on love?” he questioned.

“I didn’t. I just have a mother who spends way too much time watching crappy romance holovids and who enjoys forcing me to watch them with her whenever I’m home. Most of them suck, but occasionally you learn some things.”

Poe stood up, stretching to release some of the tension in his body.

"I'm just saying, it might give you a little more clarity."

Walking over, Poe clapped Finn on the shoulder. “Now, let’s go find one of those Varactyls. I’m feeling pretty good about my chances today.”

Finn laughed as he stood up and walked off with Poe, temporarily putting his troubles in the back of his mind to deal with later. He didn’t want to miss this disaster. It promised to be hilarious.

_One month later_

Rey was currently on her way to see her father. Before breakfast that morning, he told her to stop by his office after she had eaten. There was something important that he wanted to tell her. Curious to know what it was, she had finished her meal quickly and ran off to see him. Coming up to the large door that signified her reaching her destination, she knocked and waited for the faint “come in” before walking into the office.

Sitting behind a desk Luke who looked up and smiled when he saw Rey.

“Rey, I didn’t think you’d get here that fast. You remembered to chew right?”

Rey coughed a bit in embarrassment. Her eating habits were not the most…mannerable to say that least.

“You said you needed to see me?”

Luke chuckled. Clearly she wanted to move away from the subject as quickly as possible.

“Yes, I did. I think you’re ready for your Trials.”

That instantly had Rey standing at attention. Ever since the day she had started training, she had been waiting for this day. Learning to embrace the Force. Building her own light saber. It was all small steps that would eventually lead to her making the transition from padawan into full fledged Jedi.

“You believe so Master?”

“I know so.”

Rey couldn’t help but beam a bit at that. It felt good to hear that Luke believed in her, even though as her father he kind of had to.

“There is an artifact on the planet Ilsof. It’s in the Outer Rim. I want you to retrieve it and bring it back to me.”

“That’s it?” Rey asked incredulously. It seemed far too…simple.

“That’s it. But make no mistake Rey,” Luke said, standing up to walk over to her. “This is no simple task. This trial will test everything you think you know. About the Force. And about yourself. Your mind must be sharp and your will must be strong. And you must be grounded in the Light. Ilsof is a _dark_ place and it will tempt you. You must be able to resist its pull. Do you understand?” He clasped his hands on her shoulders, looking directly into her eyes.

Rey swallowed the nervous lump that had formed in her throat and nodded her head.

“Yes Master. I won’t let you down.”

“Excellent!” Luke squeezed her shoulders briefly before letting go.

“Now the good news is, you won’t be going alone.”

“I won’t?”

“No. There is another padawan who is also ready to take the Trials. I decided that you would both undertake them together. He should be arriving at any moment.”

Right after he said that, there was a knock on the door followed by it opening. In walked the bane of Rey’s entire existence, Finn.

“You wanted to see me Master Lu…” Finn’s sentence abruptly cut off as he saw Rey, whose face was contorted into a mixture of shock and annoyance and disbelief before it morphed into all out anger. Pointing a finger at him, Rey turned back to Luke.

“Absolutely not! There is no way I’m going on this mission with him!”

“Now now Rey. I know you and Finn have had your differences in the past…”

“Differences!?” she interrupted. “He’s responsible for one of the worst weeks of my entire life!”

Finn winced at that. She obviously still wasn’t over the flower incident.

“Be that as it may, I still want you two to do this together. You’re going to have to work together on this one. You’ll need to trust each other. Am I understood?”

From the tone of his voice, Rey knew that there would be no arguing with him. Gritting her teeth, she nodded her head. 

Satisfied with her answer, Luke gave them a few more details.

“You’ll have a week to complete this task, starting tomorrow. You guys are going to be leaving very early in the morning so I suggest you get some rest tonight. There will be a ship waiting for you. There will be coordinates already put into the nav system, all you’ll have to do is follow them. When you land, you’ll be met by a man named Deonor Arkik. He will guide you to where the artifact is located. After that, you’ll be own your own. Ok?”

Getting nods of confirmation, Luke smiled.

“Alright. You two are some of my best students I have ever had the fortune to teach. I have the upmost faith in you and I am confident you’ll succeed. Dismissed.”

“Yes Master.” They both bowed before raising back up. Giving Finn one last hard stare, Rey briskly left the room. Finn watched her go before looking at Luke.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? I can always wait to take the Trials.”

“That isn’t necessary Finn. This is going to be good. For both of you.”

Finn still looked unsure. Seeing this, Luke decided he should share a bit more.

“Can I tell you something Finn?”

He nodded, a little taken aback by the shift in conversation.

“I worry about Rey. Even more than I worry about any of my other students. She’s a good person and a great daughter but, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, she sometimes lets her anger get the better of her.”

Finn could only shake his head in agreement. He had been on the receiving end of that anger far more times than he cared to.

“Anger can be a fast trip to the Dark Side. And this Trial is going to test that more than anything else. While I’m confident she has strength to overcome it, I would feel much better knowing that there’s someone to watch her back. So I’m asking you, not just as your teacher, but as Rey’s father, please look out for her. For me.”

Finn’s eyes were wide with shocked. He had never heard Luke talk like this. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Rey was actually his daughter. Stirring up every bit of confidence and determination he had, he nodded his head furiously.

“I promise you Master. As long as I’m alive, Rey’s always gonna have someone looking out for her.”

Luke gave the most sincere smile he ever had once he heard that. He knew he could count on Finn.

“Thank you. I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate that. Now, I suggest you go try to relax a little bit. You have a long week ahead of you.”

Bowing one more time, Finn left Luke’s office, intent on heading to his favorite clearing in the forest. This was the final step on his journey to becoming a Jedi and he couldn’t wait to get to started. A bit of meditation would do well in calming his nerves. Not to mention that he had made a promise. One that he fully intended to keep. Even if it killed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have Rey and Finn landing on Illsof and beginning their search for this mysterious artifact. What dark secrets await them on this strange new planet? You'll have to wait and see :)
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying this so far. It's a bit different writing a multi-chapter story compared to writing a one-shot. I hope the pacing is alright.
> 
> As always, I appreciate all critiques and do forgive any grammar mistakes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello Folks. I'm back with another chapter. This story has grown a mind of its own. I initially meant for the whole story to only be about 3 chapters total and I'm probably gonna end up doubling that.
> 
> This chapter is mostly a bit of filler, giving some background about what happened on Illsof as well as introducing two new minor characters. There's a lot of dialogue so apologies if it seems a little slow at times. I hope you all enjoy it!

As Finn walked out into the courtyard, he was greeted by the sight of Rey and Luke having a conversation while standing next to a ship. Walking up to them, he took a small moment to examine the ship. It wasn’t a transport ship but it wouldn’t be an uncomfortable trip for two people. It had been through its’ fair share of flights but it wasn’t too worn down. All in all, it wasn’t anything impressive, but it would certainly get them from here to Illsof and back without too much trouble. Walking up to the pair, he caught the tail end of their conversation.

“And whatever you do, don’t lose your lightsaber.”

“Yes, Master.”

“That weapon is your life, Rey.”

“Yes, Master.”

“And I would suggest not tinkering with it either. How you managed to almost blow up a work station I’ll never know but…”

“For force sake, I get it _Dad_. I swear I’m not sure if you’re telling me all of these things as my teacher or my father.”

“I’m both. Which means I have to deal with twice the worry,” Luke answered, smiling before pulling Rey into a hug, his arms wrapped tight around her shoulders, hers coming around his midsection as they took in their last moment together.

“Be careful Rey. And may the Force be with you.”

Stepping back, Rey nodded before heading up the ramp and into the ship. Finn noticed that Luke watched her all the way, eyes shining with pride and no small amount of fear.

“Don’t worry Master,” he said as he approached. “I promised you I’d look out for her and that’s what I intend to do.”

“I know. And words cannot express how much that means to me. But she’s still my little girl. I’m always going to worry.”

He nodded at that.

“And besides, it’s not just her that I’m worried about. I worry for you as well Finn.”

Finn’s eyes widened a bit in shock. He had never heard Luke talk about him like that. It was surprising and yet…comforting.

“Oh ummm…thank you Master.”

Luke chuckled. “Don’t act so surprised my young padawan. Remember, this is a test for you as well, not just Rey. You’ll both have to stay strong if you want to succeed. Ok?”

“Yes, Master,” Finn replied, bowing before turning to head into the ship.

“And Finn. May the Force be with you.”

“May it be with you as well Master.”

Finn hit the control switch for the ramp as he walked up. Hearing the hiss of the door closing, he may his way to the cockpit. Rey was sitting in the pilot’s seat, doing some last-minute checks. He took his place in the copilot’s chair.

“Are you ready to go?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Rey nodded, taking the controls and lifting off. As the landing gear retracted, they were able to catch one last glimpse of Luke, a small smile on his face as he watched them set off. With a final wave, Rey smoothly guided the ship up, over The Academy and soon into the vast expanse of space. She checked the coordinates one last time.

“Nav set for Illsof. Engaging the hyperdrive.”

With the pull of a lever, the stars shifted and they were hurtling through space. It was official. Their Jedi Trial had begun.

“It’s gonna take us a few hours to get to Illsof.”

“In that case, how do you wanna pass the time.”

“In silence.”

Whatever cheer Finn had died a quick death.

“Oh. OK.”

A few minutes passed.

“Hey did you know that…”

“I said _silence!_ ”

“Right. Got it.”

Finn shifted in his chair as he tried to get comfortable. It was going to be a long flight.

“Finn, wake up!”

Finn startled out of his slumber, almost falling out of his chair. Looking at Rey, he noticed the small sound snickering coming out of her mouth.

“Just so you know sleeping beauty, we’re here.”

Ignoring her comment, he looked out of the window to catch his first view of Illsof. At first glance, it seemed to be nothing special but as Finn opened himself to the Force, he was hit by a wave of something dark and…vile. Truly terrible things had happened here. Looking at Rey, he noticed an uneasiness in her movements, her hands gripping the controls much too tight.

“You sense it too.”

“Yeah. Something bad happened here.”

Finn could only nod his head in agreement as Rey started their descent. As they made their way through the atmosphere, they were greeted by dark skies and lighting. The ship was hit by turbulence as they continued.

“Finn, make sure the shields are up. I think I can guide us through but better safe than sorry.”

Finn nodded, checking the shields and ensuring that they were up and fully functional. A crash landing was not something that he wanted to experience.

Piloting her way through, Rey was able to navigate the storm, bursting through the atmosphere and giving them a glance of the landscape. There was nothing but forest and mountain as far as the eye could see. Add in the downpour and cloudy skies, it painted a very ominous picture. Still following the nav coordinates, They came upon a small village of grey walled houses on the outskirts of the Forest. Spotting a clearing with a small, vaguely humanoid shape standing next to it, she brought them over before smoothly setting the ship down.

“Wow. You’re a really good pilot Rey.”

A slight pink hue appeared on Rey’s face as she mumbled out a “thank you”. Unbuckling herself, she walked to the back of the ship heading for the ramp. He followed suit. Walking over to his bag, he pulled out his robe. Luke was a great master, but a fashion expert he was not. All of the padawans were gifted with a set of tan tunics and pants along with a dark brown robe, as well as boots. Pulling his robe on, he grabbed his lightsaber and attached it to his belt, the sliver cylindrical weapon gleaming slightly. Satisfied, he grabbed his bag and slung it around his shoulders. Turning to Rey, he saw her finishing up her preparations as well. Dressed mostly the same, the only addition was a small holster on her leg holding an NN-14 blaster pistol. 

“All set?”

Nodding her head in confirmation, Finn pressed the switch to lower the ramp. As it opened, they were hit by the sound of rain hitting the ground as well as the sound of thunder. Lifting their hoods over their heads, they walked out, the rain hitting their heads and quickly trying to soak them to the bone. Outside, they were able to see the presence of the figure they saw earlier, clothed in a dark grey robe just like them as they walked over. The rain combined with the robe made it difficult to discern most features, but Finn could make out a white beard on their face.

“Are you the ones sent by Luke Skywalker?”

Looking at each other for a spilt second to confirm that they could trust this man, Rey answered with a shake of her head yes.

“Good. I’ve been expecting you. I am Deonor Arkik. Please, follow me.”

The man turned, walking slowly towards the village. Rey and Finn followed, walking slightly behind them. As they made their way through the small village, they noticed a small station filled with buckets collecting water from the rain. Bypassing that, Deonor brought them to a small house, although it was hard for Rey and Finn to distinguish one from another. They were all built the same. Opening the door, Deonor gestured for them to step in first. All too eager to get out of the rain, they quickly made their way inside. Lowering their hoods, they were able to take in the rather plain inside. A small table, a kitchen with a stove, and a hallway with two doors.

“Please have a seat. I know it’s not much, but it keeps the wind out. Would either of you like something to drink?”

Shaking their heads in agreement, they pulled out two chairs at the table while Deonor walked into the kitchen. Filling a pot with water, he set it on top of the stove and turned the fire on. He then made his way back to the table, taking a seat for himself, lowering his hood. Without the fabric covering his face, Finn and Rey were able to see he was probably around Luke’s age, his face covered in weariness and yet wisdom that only age could teach. Rubbing a hand through his dark hair, he regarded the young Jedi to be in his house.

“May I ask your names?”

“I’m Rey. That’s Finn.”

“Hmm. I see.”

He didn’t say much after that. Just sat in his chair and seemed to be mulling over something. It wasn’t until the kettle started whistling that he moved. He grabbed three cups from a cupboard before grabbing some leaves from another one. Laying them into the cups, he poured the boiling hot water into them. Stirring the leaves for a bit, he set them on a tray before bringing them back over to the table, handing one to Rey and Finn before taking one himself. Taking a sip, Finn was hit by the taste of a surprisingly sweet liquid.

“Wow. This is very good.”

Rey shook her head in agreement, going to take another sip. Deonor laughed, the sound rich and old.

“Thank you. The trees in the forest are Kauri trees. The leaves make for a very good brew.”

A few more moments of silence passed before Rey finally asked the question that had been on her mind since they had arrived.

“What exactly is a group of people doing here on living in a place like Illsof? No offense, but it doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of place to build a home on.”

The older man let out a bark of a laugh.

“Oh, none taken. I can freely admit that Illsof is not the most friendly of places to inhabit.”

He paused for a moment to take another sip of tea.

“Do you either of you know anything about the history of this planet?”

They both shook their heads.

“Right. Illsof was once the home of a Sith Lord.”

“Sith Lord!?” Finn gasped.

“Yes, one whose name has long since been forgotten to time. He and his army came and enslaved the natives of this planet. He built a temple that went deep underground. He forced the people here to mine the resources of this plant. He wanted to build an army to launch an attack on the galaxy, intending to rule over everyone.”

“What happened to him?”

“The same problem that every Sith runs into befell him. He desired power. Lusted for it. Too much of it. He devised a ritual to siphon off energy from the planet itself in an attempt to further his power. The resulting surge of dark energy destroyed his body and his army. As well as many of the inhabitants unfortunate enough to be caught above ground.

The young padawan’s eyes widened in shock as Deonor continued to spin his tale.

“My mother was just a mere child at the time. She along with a few others were lucky enough to be in one of the mines when the calamity struck. Working together, the survivors managed to find their way back to the surface, only to witness firsthand the destruction wrought on the planet. Most of the plant-life turned poisonous, rivers dried up. And dark creatures roaming the land. 

“What happened next?”

“Those that were left sought new homes. Any ships that may have been here were destroyed and it's not as though anyone could pilot them. The only choices were to either die or find a way to live. So they did. They built villages, learned to find new sources of food and water. My mother fell in love and eventually had me. She died while I was still young. I took over as a leader of the people and eventually we settled here.”

“How did meet my father?” Rey questioned.

“Ahh, you are Luke’s daughter. I thought you looked familiar. He arrived on this planet many years after we settled here. He came looking for the ancient temple. He explained to me that he was a Jedi and that he had felt a disturbance in the Force that had led him here. I pointed in the right direction. I don’t know the exact details, but apparently, he fought the spirit of the Sith lord.”

“Spirit? You mean he was still alive!” Finn exclaimed.

Deonor nodded his head in confirmation. “I’m not sure how, but the dark powers he wielded must have allowed his spirit to remain even without a body. Luke returned here two days later, battered and bruised. He had defeated the spirit and severely drained its power, but he couldn’t destroy it. He was only able to seal it inside of an artifact he found while exploring the temple. We spared him what few medical supplies he had. He thanked me for the aid and promised to return with supplies to help us as well as to take the spirit of the Sith Lord with him once he had a safe place to store it.”

“I’m guessing that’s what we’re here to collect,” Rey remarked.

“Yes. It was quite the shock when Luke told me he was sending two students. Every few months he brings supplies to us. He talked about the academy that he built but he never really mentioned anything about the temple. I can only assume that he must have the means to contain the spirit and he must have great faith to entrust with you two the task of bringing it to him.”

Rey bowed her head low, the gravity of the situation hitting her. Across from her, Finn's eyes were locked dead ahead, not focused on anything, obviously distracted by his thoughts.

A knock on the door roused all three of the occupants as they watched another hooded figure come through the door, dripping water everywhere.

“Father I’ve returned. I was able to find an Ellider so the stew should be really good tonight…”

The light, faintly airy voice stopped as the person realized her father was not the only person inside.

“Ahh, it's about time. I was beginning to worry.” Deonor responded, getting out of his chair. He walked up to the mysterious individual, wrapping them in a hug before turning back.

“Finn. Rey. I would like you to meet my daughter, Ashall.”

The figure dropped their hood, revealing a slightly hardened but undeniably fair visage of a young woman. Slightly pale, probably due to the lack of consistent sunlight. She had long, dark blue hair that fell to her chest, with one half being left free while the other was done up in a braid. Striking green eyes regarded the pair, curiosity reflected in them. 

“Ashall, this is who you’ll be guiding to the Ancient Temple tomorrow morning.”

“Ahh, right you did mention that.”

Rising from the table, Rey walked up to greet her, shaking her hand.

“I’m Rey. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

Turning her attention to Finn, who had also gotten up, Ashall scanned him up and down before a flirtatious and slightly predatory grin popped up on her face.

“You must be Finn. I didn’t think they made Jedi as handsome as you but I’m happy to be proven wrong.”

Finn’s eyes blinked once. Twice. And then a third time before a huge blush appeared, evident even on his dark skin.

“O-Oh um tha-thank you. I mean I’m not even really a J-Jedi yet…”

Rey watched as Finn stumbled over his words while Ashall kept eying him up like a piece of steak. She wasn’t sure why but she felt a …unpleasant pull at seeing him gush over the attention of this woman. Almost like she ate something bad.

“Ashall stop teasing the poor boy. You’re making him uncomfortable.”

She pouted but ceased her teasing of the young man. Finn was grateful for the assistance. It was uncomfortable to have someone flirt so openly with him. Glancing at Rey, he noticed her giving him a hard stare before turning her nose up and away from him. Weird. Or maybe not. Rey always seemed to be mad at him for something.

“I’m assuming one of them is going to be staying with me?”

“Yes. Sorry about that. I only have one spare room here. Unless you two don’t mind sharing…”

“No,” Rey immediately cut that suggestion off.

“Right then. Ashall lives just down the way a bit so you won’t be far.”

Ashall swayed up to Finn, reaching out to pat him on the chest. A pat that quickly turned into a caress.

“You wanna room with me cutie. We could talk. Get to know each other a little bit…” She let the obvious innuendo hang in the air.

Finn was having a meltdown. His brain had stopped functioning and words refused to leave his mouth. He was broken out of his stupor by a hard shoulder shove from Rey. Rubbing his arm(that girl did not understand that normal people weren’t as strong as her) he noticed the smile on Rey’s face. A smile that wasn’t about being happy if the look in her eyes was to be believed. 

“I think _I’d_ be more comfortable rooming with another woman, if you don’t mind.”

Ashall reluctantly dropped her hand from Finn, looking at Rey.

“No that’s no issue at all. I understand. Dad, I’m gonna take Rey and show her to her room. Dinner should be ready in an hour so.”

Heading to the door, she sent one last wink in Finn’s direction. Getting the blush she was hoping for, she smiled and pulled her hood up, heading back out into the rain. Rey followed, glaring at him as harshly as he had ever seen before following Ashall out, slamming the door closed with more than what was necessary. A few moments passed before Deonor finally spoke.

“Women huh kid?”

“…Yeah.”

“Come on. I’ll show where you’re sleeping and then put another pot on. I think you could use it.”

“….Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well well well, it seems we have another lady in the mix, one who's taken a liking to our friend Finn. I wonder how Rey's gonna handle that? Lol. 
> 
> Honestly, writing a jealous Rey in this story is gonna be fun. I don't wanna focus on it too much but I do think it helps to show that Rey doesn't just have feelings of anger and jealousy directed towards Finn. Kind of the classic "I don't like my toy but I don't want you to play with it either" type deal.
> 
> I hope this chapter didn't bore you guys. Setting up some backstory was important for setting up the next chapters. The next chapter will have Rey and Finn arriving at the Temple and I promise the action is gonna pick up a bit.
> 
> As always, all critiques are welcome and do forgive any grammar mistakes. Until next time, KingSkywalker7 out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This time, our two heroes finally begin making their way towards the temple guided by Ashall, the blue-haired daughter of Luke's contact, who has taken quite the interest in the young Finn, much to Rey's annoyance.

Rey checked the harness on the back of the speeder, ensuring that her pack was secured and wouldn’t fall off. She and Ashall were waiting for Finn to arrive. They had both been up very early, at least an hour before they were supposed to be leaving. Ashall because she had wanted to do some last-minute checks on the speeder. Rey because she physically couldn’t sleep anymore. Ever since Deonor had told them that story, she couldn’t shake off this feeling that something bad was going to happen once they got to the temple.

“Hey Rey, can I ask you something?”

She was broken out of her thoughts as she turned to look at Ashall. Rey wasn’t sure what to make of the woman. They had talked a little bit last night while she had been preparing their dinner. Ashall shared a fair number of similarities to Rey. Strong, determined, a passionate desire to always help out where they could. She talked about how as Deonor had gotten older, she had picked up more responsibility, taking it upon herself to learn how to hunt for food. Learning to see signs of creatures that they should avoid. Even picking up tips about mechanical repairs from Luke whenever he would come by. It was something that Rey could appreciate and admire. But despite that, there was just something about the blue-haired girl that rubbed her the wrong way.

“Sure.”

“What’s up with you and Finn?”

Rey frowned. “What’s up…with me and Finn?”

“Yeah. Are you guys together? Dating? More than friends?”

Rey stood there for a moment, eyes unblinking before a blush erupted on her face. She quickly shook her hands in protest.

“Dating? Force no. There’s nothing between me and Finn. Not even friendship.”

“Oh really?”

“Nope. He’s a cocky, know-it-all jerk and the only reason I’m even on this mission with him is that our Master thought it would go better with the two us. I disagreed but I couldn’t change his mind.”

“Huh. I gotta say, he doesn’t come off that way. He seems nice.”

“Yeah? Well trust me, it’s nothing but an act. And if he tries to offer you help or advice, just ignore him. He just wants to show off.”

Ashall nodded her head, but seem unconvinced that Rey was telling the truth.

“No matter,” she thought to herself. Eventually, everyone would see what she saw when they looked at Finn. Eventually. One day. Hopefully soon.

“Ok ladies. I’m ready to go,” came the cheerful voice of the current person of interest.

“About time. I was starting to think you were gonna chicken out.”

“Nah. You won’t get rid of me that easy Rey. We’re in this together until the end.” Finn replied without pause, a smile on his face.

Rey grumbled in annoyance as Finn brushed off her insult but she couldn’t keep her lips from upturning a bit at his words.

“Hey, Finn. Did you sleep well last night?” came the sweet voice of Ashall.

“Absolutely! I can’t thank you and Deonor enough for all that you’re doing for us. We appreciate it.”

Ashall waved her hands.

“It’s our pleasure. Luke’s done a lot for us over the years. We’re all too happy to pay him back any way we can.”

Rey watched as Finn and Ashall smiled at each other. Again, that unpleasant feeling popped up. 

“If you two are done flirting, I’d like to get a move on. We’re kind of on a time limit,” she interjected.

Finn blushed at the implication that they were flirting while Ashall simply laughed.

“Fair enough. It’s gonna take most of the day to get there.”

“How far away is this temple anyway?”

“Pretty far. We’ve gotta cross a lot of land. Including what used to be a rather large lake. After that, we’ll have to detour through the Lunenree Forest.”

“What’s the Lunenree Forest?” Finn asked.

“It _used_ to be one of the most beautiful places you could ever see. Lush green trees, flowers of all different kinds of colors. At least, that’s what some of the elders tell me. All I’ve ever known is that it’s become the home of some very dangerous beasts. Normally, I’d prefer to take the long trek around it but as Rey said, we don’t have the time. Which means we’re gonna have to go through it. If we’re lucky, we can avoid running into anything nasty.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Nodding in agreement, Rey climbed into the transport speeder. After making sure his bag was strapped in well, Finn followed. One last check to make sure they had everything and then they were off, weaving their way through the small forest the village guided by a worn-out path.

In no time at all, they emerged into a clearing, surrounded by small hills and rocky mountains. It was beautiful or at least, Finn imagined it would’ve have been a long time ago. Now, it just seemed to be a stark reminder of what happened. As Ashall expertly guided them around and over the terrain, Finn spoke up.

“Ashall…I’m sorry. For what happened to your home.”

“It’s fine. Most of it happened before I was born. Hard to miss what you never had.”

Despite her words, he could tell she was deeply affected. He turned away, watching as the scenery continued to pass them by. Not much was said as they continued their journey, all three occupants caught up with their thoughts. 

As they were coming up on Lunenree, Rey could feel dark energy on the very edge of her consciousness, coming from beyond the forest. She tried to ignore it, but the pressure started to increase, growing from a minor annoyance to a fairly annoying headache, causing Rey to hold her head. Concentrating on the Force, she fortified her meal defenses and pushed the oppressive force out. The headache cleared immediately, though she could still feel the remnants of the mental probe. 

“What was that?”

She failed to notice Finn looking at her, concern in his eyes.

The event was soon pushed aside when she felt the speeder coming to a stop, right next to what had to be the largest forest she had ever seen.

“Alright, we’re trekking it on foot from here.”

After making sure they grabbed all of the essentials they walked to the beginning of the forest, Ashall giving them some last-minute tips.

“Remember, this is a dangerous place and not just because of the creatures. There are some pretty nasty plants in here as well. My advice, always watch where you’re stepping and don’t touch anything if you can help it.”

Nodding affirmatively, they followed her into the thick trees and underbrush. As they moved deeper, the sunlight dwindled, leaving them with just enough to see where they were going. Heeding their guide’s advice, Rey and Finn tried to follow Ashall’s exact footsteps, avoiding touching the rather mossy trunks of the trees that surrounded them. They moved in silence like this for a while, keeping an eye out for any signs of danger.

Rey started to feel herself getting hot as their journey continued, which wasn’t a surprise. Her body had always run warmer than everybody else's. But eventually, the heat became too much and so she had removed her robe, leaving her in just her tunic and her pants.

As they walked, Rey became aware of eyes looking at her from behind. Turning, she saw only saw Finn, looking everywhere but at her. Shaking her head, she continued forward, only to again feel like she was being watched. She turned quicker this time, catching a glimpse of Finn averting his eyes from looking down behind her to some random point in the distance, trying to act normal. She felt a burst of indignation as well as, though she would never admit it, a small bit of pleasure as she realized where Finn had been looking.

“Was he…Was he staring at my ass?”

It was only after she saw Finn’s eyes widen in shock that she realized she said that out loud.

“W-w-what?” he squeaked out, blushing brightly.

She narrowed her eyes, doubling down on her inquiry. “Were you. Staring. At my ass?”

“Hahaha, I-I have no idea what-what you’re talking about Rey.” 

He desperately hoped that she believed him. He didn’t mean to! Honestly. But he couldn’t help it if his eyes glanced down every once in a while. Rey too attractive for his own good. He fidgeted as Rey continued to look before seemingly accepting his words and turning to keep up with Ashall. He breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close one. Shaking his head, he made to follow her. As he did, he still couldn’t stop his eyes from occasionally dropping down Rey’s form. 

Rey couldn’t help the small smile on her face. She didn’t think of herself as pretty or beautiful really and she never really cared too. But it was nice to know that someone found her attractive, even if it was Finn. And if she decided to add a little extra sway to her hips well, it’s not like anyone would find out.

The trio trekked through the woods for what felt like hours, crossing the rough and uneven expanse of green. Rey would occasionally ask Ashall about some of the flora they came across. There had been one plant that they had been able to pick berries from, providing a small bit of nourishment. While Finn and Rey had brought rations with them, they thought it best to hold on to those for as long as possible.

“How much further Ashall?” Finn asked, trudging behind the two women as they came upon a clearing. Carrying this pack was starting to take a toll.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer,” she called back.

He let out a sigh of exhaustion. He had heard that before.

“You’ve been saying that for the last half hour. You know, I’m starting to think that…” He stopped abruptly. Noticing that he had stopped talking, the two ladies turned to look at him.

“What’s wrong Finn?” Ashall asked.

“Something…big is coming. Do you feel it, Rey?”

Rey closed her eyes and focused on the Force, enhancing her awareness. …There, off to the left. Finn was right. Something big and dangerous was heading right for them. Opening her eyes, she turned to face that way, drawing her lightsaber, she activated it, a bright yellow blade emerging.

“He’s right, we’ve got company.”

Next to her, Finn drew and ignited his lightsaber. The purple blade hummed as he brought it in front of him, two hands gripped tightly around it. 

The trio stood there with bated breath as the ground started to shake a little, the entity getting closer and closer. Just as the wait seemed to become unbearable, a roar was heard as a beast burst through the trees.

The bipedal creature towered over them. Blue skin covered it. Large, muscular arms signified that it possessed great strength. Two beady eyes right next to a snout and a mouth full of sharp teeth. All in all, not what they had wanted to run into.

“Ashall, what is that thing?” Rey backed up as she asked the question, the snarls and harsh breathing of the beast making her anxious.

“A Jotaz. Big berserkers. Not particularly fast or smart, but they pack a mean punch.”

“Noted. Any weaknesses?”

“None that I know of. We aren’t equipped to fight so we try to just avoid them.”

After that brief conversation, the Jotaz decided it was done waiting and went on the attack. It leaped in the air, fists poised to smash down right on top of them. The three of them scattered to avoid the hit. It cracked the ground, throwing up chunks of dirt. 

Rey rushed in swiping at its back, being rewarded with only a shallow cut on its hide. The beast roared, swiping its fist at her, which she only just managed to avoid. This allowed Finn to strike himself, though his efforts weren’t rewarded any more than Rey’s.

“It’s skin is pretty thick. It’s gonna take us forever to kill this thing. We need a plan.” He piped up.

“I might have one. Can you guys distract it for a little bit?” Ashall asked.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Just distract it. and try to lure it over by that tree.”

Nodding affirmatively, Rey and Finn charged towards the beast. Finn parried a large fist from the Jotaz, sending him back a few steps. Though this allowed Rey to slice into its leg. It let out a roar of anger, turning to face the source of its pain.

“That’s right, this way you ugly, blue laser brain.” 

True to Ashall’s word, the Jotaz didn’t even think twice before following her. She led it over to where Ashall had directed her. Putting her back to the tree, she watched her opponent come lumbering towards her. It tried to smash her again, prompting Rey to roll between its legs and deal another strike to it’s back, this one going a little deeper but still not qualifying as a real blow.

“Man this thing is tough,” she thought as it turned to face her. Finn came running up beside her. 

“Where’s Ashall?” As he asked this, they both noticed the person in question on top of the tree right above the Jotaz.

“If I get killed here Dad is gonna throw a fit,” Ashall mused to herself as she walked out on the branch of the tree she was in. This was probably a really stupid idea but it was the only one she could think of. Drawing a pair of knives that she always kept on her person, she leaped off, landing on the back of the Jotaz. 

It immediately roared its displeasure and tried to fling her off. Holding on as best as she could, she took her knives and jammed them right into its neck. It roared again, this time in real pain. It started wildly throwing its body around, hoping to get rid of its offender. She tried to keep a hold, but it was too strong and with a twist of its body, she was flung off, hitting the ground hard. 

“Ashall!” Finn immediately ran over, checking to make sure that she was ok. 

The Jotaz roared again, its anger at not being able to kill its prey starting to boil over. Rey sought to use the creature's distracted state to her advantage, rushing to attack it. However, the Jotaz seemed to anticipate this and faster than she could react, it swung a large fist at her. Unable to block, she took the full force of the hit, which sent her flying in a tree, lightsaber deactivating. The back of her head hit with a rather hard thunk. She slid to the ground, groaning in pain. The Jotaz advanced on its weakened opponent, with the intent of finishing it.

“REY!!!”

Finn leaped over the beast, landing in front of it. He sent a sideways slash at its stomach. The purple blade struck, leaving a deep gash. The beast let out a pained scream, holding a hand to the wound.

“It’s skin isn’t as thick there. That’s where I’ve gotta focus my attacks.” 

He pressed his advantage. Bringing his blade over his head, he swung it down, the overhead strike being caught by the arm of the monster. The blade went deep into the creature's left arm. Disengaging, he dodged the follow-up swipe and was able to land another strike on the stomach.

Roaring again, it lunged for Finn. Not expecting this, he was unable to avoid being grabbed by the creature's right hand. He was forced to drop his lightsaber as the creature started to squeeze, trying to crush him.

“Ahhhh!”

Rey groggily blinked her eyes open. Her vision was blurred and her ears were ringing, but she could recognize the scream. Looking over, she saw Finn being squeezed by the creature. Trying to clear her head, she recognized that there was no way for him to escape.

“Finn.”

Rey felt a surge of fear. Her comrade was about to be killed. She stuck out a hand towards the beast, willing the Force to do something. Nothing happened.

“Come on!”

As she kept holding her hand out, she felt her fear start to turn to anger. Anger at this beast for attacking them. Anger at seeing her friend hurt. And most importantly, anger at her inability to do anything to stop it. As this anger started to boil over, she latched onto it, using it draw strength from. As a surge of power flowed through her, she started to focus on the arm that was holding Finn. She slammed her fingers shut, watching as the creature's right arm was crushed, immediately causing it to roar out in agony and drop Finn, who landed with a soft thud. She smiled to herself, happy at her intervention before she passed out, head slumping against the tree.

Finn quickly got up. He saw the Jotaz holding its mangled arm. Looking over at Rey, he saw her leaning against a tree, eyes closed.

“Ok. This ends, now.”

Drawing his lightsaber, he watched as the creature looked at him and roared, rearing its other hand up to try and smash him. Centering himself with the Force, he waited for the strike to come into range. Just as it was about to hit him. He swung his lightsaber. Factoring in the damage he had done earlier, he managed to slice right through the arm, cutting off the hand. Spinning he sent a backward thrust right into the creature's gut. It sank deep. Letting out one last gasp, the Jotaz slumped back, hitting the ground with a thud.

Finn turned to stare at it, waiting for it to get back up. After a moment passed and it still didn’t move, he was able to deactivate his weapon, sheathing it before running over to Rey. Placing a hand on her neck, he was able to feel a slightly faint but still strong pulse. He breathed a sigh a relief. She was still alive.

“Is she alright?” He turned to see Ashall walking over. He shook his head.

“Yeah. I think she just unconscious. Combination of exhaustion and hitting her head. She’s gonna have a decent bruise bit she should be fine.”

“Good.” She took a glance around before looking up at the sky, noticing the quickly setting sun. “We need to get moving though. It’ll be dark soon and if you thought that thing was bad, you don’t wanna see what lurks here at night.”

Nodding his head, he slipped his arms underneath her legs before cradling her neck. Bracing his legs, he lifted her, surprised to find that she wasn’t nearly as heavy as he thought. He turned to Ashall.

“Lead the way.”

She nodded, quickly taking off. Finn followed, the weight of the woman in his arms not slowing him down a bit.

Rey slowly opened her eyes. As she started to regain consciousness, she noticed that instead of the bright sun, she was greeted by dark skies. Sitting up, she placed a hand on her head, feeling a blanket from her chest to her waist. She let out a groan, feeling a massive headache assaulting her head.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

She turned, registering the sight of Finn sitting next to a bright fire.

“What happened?” she inquired.

“Well,” he turned to face her. “ I managed to defeat that Jotaz. You were knocked unconscious. We couldn’t stay in the forest though. So, I carried you the rest of the way out. We made camp at the base of this mountain. According to Ashall, at the top is the entrance to the Temple.”

Rey tried to wrap her thoughts around that. “You carried me here? How long was I unconscious?”

“A few hours. You still hadn’t woken up by the time we had gotten here. Ashall and I ate dinner before she went to sleep. I wanted to stay up for a little longer, just in case, you woke up. There’s still some food left if you’re hungry.”

She shook her head. While she probably should eat, she just wasn’t feeling hungry at the moment. 

“You know it’s funny, you talk in your sleep.”

She froze. Of course, she’d known that she talked in her sleep. But she had been sleeping in her own room for so long that it never registered as a problem. Until now.

“Ohhh…I do?”

“Yeah. You said some pretty interesting stuff.”

Rey narrowed her eyes. “What did you hear?”

A smug smile came across his face. “Oh not much really. Though, you did keep repeating ‘stop hurting my friend,’ and moaning out ‘Finnnn’”.

The blush that popped up on Rey’s face reached to the roots of her hair.

“W-w-what!!!?”

“Yeah. I gotta say, Rey, that doesn’t sound like the kind of dream you have about someone you don’t like?”

Rey buried her face in her hands, mortified. She could hear Finn quietly cheering and whooping, mumbling “ I knew she liked me” and other sentiments.

“I don’t hate you, you know?”

This time, it was Finn who froze abruptly. “Huh?”

Rey wasn’t sure what was compelling her to talk. Divulging her feelings wasn’t something she did. She hated doing it. But something about being around Finn made it…easier, she guessed.

“I’ve never actually, you know, hated you. At least, not really.”

“Really?

“Yeah.”

He was silent for a moment.

“So, why all the harsh stares and the comments? Why did you call me an 'arrogant nerf herder'? Still don't know what that means by the way."

Rey laughed.

“I-I don’t know what that means either. It’s something I heard my aunt say to my uncle once when she was angry. As for why I gave you the harsh treatment. I guess I was a little, _just a little,_ jealous of you.”

Finn's eyes widened in shock.

“Jealous? Of me?”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her head and nodded, eyes pointed at the ground.

“Yeah. I know I’ve never said it out loud but you’re a very talented and strong Force user Finn. And it just rubbed me wrong way…I guess.”

Finn stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt her.

“It's just, I’m Rey _Skywalker_. Daughter of _the_ Luke Skywalker. Hero of the Rebellion. Savior of the Universe….”

The floodgates had opened now. Rey couldn’t seem to stop talking.

“My father is the greatest Jedi there ever was. That’s a lot to live up to Finn. I trained so hard, hoping that I could be half the Jedi he was. And it paid off. I was top of the class. Everyone looked up to me. It felt…good. Like I was on the right path to becoming just as great as him. And then you showed up.”

She paused for a breath.

“Here was this random kid, with no training whatsoever. And it was as if none of that mattered. You excelled, even more than I did. The icing on the cake was that spar. I’ve never been more humiliated in my life. You bested me, quite handily I might add. At that moment, I didn’t feel special anymore. I just felt like regular old Rey. And I resented you for making me feel like that. So when you tried to help me, I lashed out. Believing you were a cocky smart ass was easier to deal with than just acknowledging that maybe I wasn’t as good as I thought, I guess.”

Finishing her impromptu speech, she waited for Finn to say something. She had a ton of different scenarios running through her mind about how he would react. However, she was prepared for him to burst out in laughter.

“Hahahahahaha.”

Her face scrunched up, hurt visible on her face.

“Really? I open up to you and you decide to laugh. Thanks a lot, Finn.”

He coughed, trying to stop. He succeeded, but he couldn’t wipe the smile from his face.

“Sorry Rey, it's just, the idea of you being jealous of me is funny. This whole time, I’ve been jealous of _you_.”

This time, it was Rey’s eyes that widened.

“R-Really? What could you possibly be jealous of me for?”

“Rey you’re amazing. Seriously. I’ve never seen anyone fight like you. It’s kind of mesmerizing. I wish I could do the things with a lightsaber I’ve seen you do.”

She blushed. 

“And honestly, I don’t think you need to live up to your dad’s legacy. I happen to like ‘regular old Rey’. She’s strong and intelligent. She can have a real mean streak in her but she’s also super kind. She loves to garden and watch flowers bloom. She’s a great mechanic, even though she almost always manages to find a way to almost blow herself up…”

“Hey, that’s only happened like five times...Maybe six,” she interjected, smiling.

“She’ll offer help to anyone who needs it but refuses help from others when the tables are turned. She’s prideful, which can be annoying sometimes. But it’s also what pushes her to be the best she can be. And most importantly,” he looked right into her eyes, smiling wide. “There’s no one else I’d rather be on this journey with than her. You ask me, that’s a pretty special person, regardless of her name.”

Rey could feel a few tears threatening to run down her face. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. She quickly wiped them away, not wanting to start crying in front of him.

“Thank you, Finn. That was sweet.”

“You’re welcome, Rey.”

They sat in silence for a little bit after that. Finn glanced at the other member of their group, fast asleep. He had been worried about her. She had hit the ground pretty hard after the Jotaz flung her off. She insisted she was fine but he wasn’t too sure.

“I think she likes you know. You should ask her out when this is all over.” Rey offered.

He shook his head. “Nah. I mean, she’s a good person, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think she could ever leave this place behind. And I don’t do long-distance relationships. Besides, there’s another girl I’ve got my eye on.” 

As he said this, he looked right at Rey. It took her a couple of moments before the implication hit her. A blush spread across her face, so intense that she thought it might melt off.

“Is he flirting with me? …Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope…” she was not tackling that tonight.

“Well, would you look at that? It’s getting super late. We should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow you know. Goodnight!”

She ducked back under her blanket, turning her back to the fire and pulling it almost over her head. She heard Finn let out a small chuckle before he settled down onto his makeshift bed, quickly falling asleep.

Rey could feel her heart beating wildly and the damn blush wouldn’t go away.

“Does he like me? Do I like _him_? I mean he’s not the worst guy around. He’s actually a pretty decent one. And there was that time he answered the door just after hopping out of the shower. Wearing nothing but a towel. Those physical exercises were working for him…”

She stopped, mortified at the thoughts going through her mind. Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of the thoughts and go to sleep. It took her some time though and even when sleep finally did take her, she couldn’t get the image of Finn’s smiling face to completely leave her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've reached the temple. Or at least, we've reached the base of it. Rey tapped a little bit into the darker side of her powers. What implications could that have? And what was that ominous, mysterious force that tried to invade her mind? You'll have to find out next chapter.
> 
> Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. I had to rewrite this one like 3 times and even still, I'm not quite all the way satisfied with how it turned out. But I tend to get into my own head a lot and overthink things so maybe I'm just being harsh on myself. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it. The next chapter will have these two actually making their way into the temple and doing some exploring. 
> 
> As always, I appreciate all critiques and do forgive any grammar mistakes. Peace out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Finn explore the Temple, looking for the artifact. As they do, Rey continues to struggle with the darkness that seems to be attracted to her bursts of anger. It leads to both her and Finn being put in a dire situation.

Rey and Finn were slowly making their way up the path to the top of the mountain. While not particularly large, it was fairly steep. One slip and you would find yourself falling to the bottom. They had left the camp earlier that morning, leaving Ashall behind. She insisted that she would be alright until they returned. The deadliest creatures Lunenree had to offer, like the Jotaz, typically roamed around right in the center of the forest. The edges were mostly inhabited by small animals so safety and food were readily available to her. She waved them off with good wishes and a promise to be there when they got back. That had been about a half-hour ago.

“How much further Finn?”

“Just a little more. I think I can see the top of some kind of structure.”

It turns out he was right. As they reached the top they were greeted by the sight of a large metal structure with an opening right in front. Inside, there was a circular stone monument that reached about 25 feet into the air.

“Wow. This thing is huge!” Rey exclaimed, racing towards it.

“Hey wait up Rey,” Finn chuckled as he followed her. 

Standing right next to it, they were able to grasp just how massive the thing was.

“How did we not see this earlier?”

“I don’t know. It seems liked it’d be pretty hard to miss.”

Rey moved inside to take a closer look at the monument. There didn’t seem to be anything too special about it. It was old, evidenced by the numerous cracks that covered it. There were a few markings and symbols on it but they weren’t anything that she couldn’t make out. 

The only thing that seemed out of place was a section right in the front. It was colored differently. A sort of…faded bronze. She walked up to it and reached out her hand to examine it. It wasn’t made out of stone like the rest. It almost looked like a…

As soon as her hand made contact with the door, pain erupted in her head. Images started to rapidly flash through her mind. Villages being burned to the ground. Natives gunned down in a blaze of blaster fire. Red armor-clad soldiers marching through fields of fire. Young children being forced to work. And at the center of it all, a figure covered in black, sinister yellow eyes gleaming from underneath a hood. Eyes that seemed to stare directly into Rey’s soul. She yanked her hand away and yelped in pain, falling on her butt. As she did, the bronze slab started to slide up, revealing itself to be a door.

“Rey!” Finn came running in. Seeing her on the ground holding her head, he rushed over. “Are you okay?” 

She waved off his concerns. “I’m fine. I think I might have found the entrance.”

“Then why are you holding your head?”

“Oh. Uhh…when I put my hand on that thing, it started to move out of nowhere. Startled me. I think I ended up whacking myself with my hand. You know how clumsy I can get around machines hahaha,” She tried to laugh it off. She had no intention of telling Finn what she had seen. 

He looked unconvinced, but eventually, he nodded, sticking his hand out to help her up. She took it, shaking her head to try and soothe the headache before examining the new opening. Finn walked up next to her.

“Do you think this is the way into the temple?” he asked. 

“Only one way to find out,” she replied, making her way inside, Finn close behind her. They walked unimpeded for a short stretch before the pathway quickly began to narrow off. They were forced to turn sideways and slowly shuffle their way through. This wasn’t too much of an issue for Rey but for Finn, the task proved to be a little more difficult. Rey could hear his quiet grunts as he tried to wiggle his way through.

“Maybe you should lay off the space pies Finn,” she chuckled.

“Hey hey hey, you leave me and my space pies alone. They have nothing to do with this. And I don’t think you’re the one to be giving eating habit advice. I’ve seen you scarf down food during mealtime. It’s a wonder you haven’t managed to eat the actual plate yet.”

“Heyyyy…” she squawked back indignantly, hearing Finn laugh at his joke. 

Thankfully, the tight walk only lasted a few more feet before Rey started to see light.

“Almost at the end,” she called back. Finally sliding free, she emerged into a large spherical space. There was a hole in the top, allowing sunlight to bathe the room in a light glow. The walls were covered in the same symbols that she had seen outside.

“Whoa…” she heard Finn breathe out from behind her. It was a sentiment that she shared. They both walked to the center of the room.

“I still don’t see an entrance, Rey.”

“Yeah neither do I. Maybe we missed something while we were outside. I can go back and check…”

As she was talking the floor shuddered, startling both of them. The large section they were standing on started to sink into the ground.

“Huh, an elevator. This must take us down into the temple.” Finn said.

“Deonor did mention that people were forced to work in mines. Guess it makes sense that a lot of it would be built underground.”

The elevator continued to rumble down. As it did, the sunlight slowly started to fade. Finn just so happened to be looking over at Rey when one of its beams hit her face. It made her look radiant. Almost like an angel.

Rey turned to look at him, seeing him gazing at her with the same look in his eyes that he had last night. She couldn’t keep herself from blushing again. She punched him in the arm.

“Owww. What was that for?” Finn cried out, rubbing the spot where she hit him.

“You were staring at me and it was weirding me out.” She responded, turning away from him so he couldn’t see the pink on her cheeks.

He continued to rub his arm, trying to soothe the pain as the elevator finally came to a stop. A door opened up, revealing another corridor for them to walk through. When they finally came to the end, they were greeted by a narrow and deteriorated room. The walls were cracked, large pieces on the ground from where they had broken off. Up ahead there were two paths. The path on the right was cut off, a pile of stones blocking the way.

“I guess there’s only one way forward,” Rey said, making her way down the pathway to the left, Finn following right behind her. The twisted path continued to lead them deeper. They passed many other rooms and doors. Some led to dead ends while others were blocked off. Eventually, they wound up in a small, enclosed area. On either side, there were small rooms with what looked like bars closing them.

“These were cells,” Finn said. “This must have been where they kept the villagers back then.”

Rey walked up to one of the cells. There was a skeleton laying on the ground with an arm sticking out. Rey bent down to examine the remains. Sticking a hand down, she called on the Force, asking it to show her what happened. A wave of various emotions crashed into her like a wave. She felt the utter terror of a woman as her child was taken away, the agony of working long days, and barely being given enough food and water to live, the emptiness that came from knowing that this cell would be where she died. All of these emotions hit Rey hard, causing her to gasp as she pulled her hand back, letting go of the connection. Finn was by her side in an instant.

“Rey. Rey what’s wrong,” he asked.

“T-The woman who used to be in this cell…” she started, trying to calm her breathing. “I could feel her sadness, her fear. She was so terrified, Finn.”

He put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s ok Rey. I know there’s nothing we can do about what happened here but we can do our best to make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s why we’re here right? So that we can start making a difference.”

She nodded her head, slowly calming herself down before standing back up.

“How did you do that by the way?”

“Oh, it’s called Psychometry. The best way I can describe it is I can feel echos in the Force. The history of objects.”

“That sounds like a neat skill to have.”

“Yeah, I guess. I still can’t quite control it though. It can flair up on me and sometimes I can get overwhelmed by the emotions. It gives me a really bad headache.”

“I’m sure you’ll master it in no time, Rey.”

She didn’t bother trying to hide the smile on her face.

“Thanks. Now let’s get a move on. This place is starting to creep me out.”

Smiling in agreement, Finn led the way out. They continued to walk through the temple, searching for the artifact. They passed by many rooms and passageways, but none led them to what they were looking for. After what felt like hours of searching, they arrived in a room that was built almost like a small arena. There was a large open door at the far end that seemed to lead out into a large area. Standing next to the door were two large human-like mechanical robots. They were about 10 feet tall. In the center of their chests were orbs.

“Oh cool. Hey Finn check this out.” Rey shouted, running over to examine them. However, as soon as she got closer, they started to move. A small slit in their heads that served as eyes lit up, glowing a sinister red. She quickly halted her progress.

“Umm Finn, I don’t think these things are friendly!” 

One of the robot's chest started to glow, the orb charging up in the same red color.

“Rey look out!”

She ducked to the side. The robot unleashed a blast of energy directly where she had been standing, scorching the ground and kicking up gravel.

Finn ignited his saber, holding it in front of his body as one of the automatons lumbered towards him. It brought up a foot, aiming to slam it down on his head. He rolled out of the way, feeling the ground shake a bit. He swiped at its side, his lightsaber cutting deep. However, this didn’t even seem to faze the thing as it swung its arm at him, catching him in the chest and sending him flying back. He shook his head, quickly getting back up as the robot gave him no time for a reprieve.

Meanwhile, Rey was doing her best to handle her opponent. She had gotten a couple of good strikes in but just like Finn, she found that it did little to slow it down. The automaton charged up again, this time firing small balls of energy that exploded on impact. She weaved her way through them, leaping in the air and bringing her yellow blade down, trying slice off the head. It moved out of the way, a glancing blow to the shoulder her only reward. It kicked her in the back as she landed, sending her face forward into the ground.

Rey could feel her anger once again bubbling up. She was sick of this planet, she was sick of the constant feeling that she was being observed and most importantly, she was sick of these damn robots. The voice that she had heard in the forest seemed even louder now.

“ ** _Yes. Use your anger. Draw power from it and destroy these insignificant things_** _.”_

She turned to look at the robot, glaring menacingly. It charged at her, arm raised. As it swung down, she reacted, slicing off the arm. Pivoting, she brought her blade down on its waist, slicing it in two. Satisfied that it was dealt with, she turned to look at Finn, who was having a bit of trouble. That was…unacceptable.

Finn was breathing heavily as he stared down his enemy. No matter what he did, he just couldn’t seem to put the thing down. He brought up his blade again, preparing his defenses once more as the robot began to charge up again. Before it could fire, however, it was suddenly lifted into the air. He looked and saw Rey standing behind it, hand lifted. He saw her slowly start to close her fist and watched as the automaton began to be crushed. Eventually, it was turned into a ball, which Rey leaped into the air and sliced clean through, leaving two halves hot with melted metal in their place.

He would’ve congratulated her if he hadn’t seen the look in her eyes. There was something wrong with them. A glee in the face of destruction that he would never associate with Rey. And he could feel the dark side flowing off of her. It worried him.

“Rey…” he whispered.

Before he could contemplate further, a hidden door opened up on the side, allowing 4 more of the automatons to walk in.

“Come on Rey, we gotta run!” he exclaimed heading towards the large door. He turned back when he didn’t hear the sound of footsteps following him. “Rey?”

She couldn’t hear him. The power she was feeling flowing through her was clouding everything. The only thing she could hear was the voice in her head, commanding her to destroy.

The robots all charged up their orbs at the same time. Rey brought her lightsaber up, almost as though she were expecting to take the attacks head-on. It was only because of Finn diving at her and pulling her to the ground that she wasn’t given the chance to. The beams of energy shot over their heads, hitting the wall and moving upwards. The attack caused part of the ceiling to start crumbling to the ground.

“Come on!” Finn yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the exit. They ran for it, avoiding the falling debris. They jumped through the door, just barely avoiding being crushed. Landing on the other side, they watched as rocks continued to fall, blocking them off from the robots.

Standing up, Finn surveyed their new surroundings. Up ahead, there was a bridge that connected the platform they were standing on to another on the far side where another door stood. It was supported by a beam below the center of it. Two large pillars stood on either side. The bridge rested over a large chasm so deep that he couldn’t see the bottom. 

“That isn’t gonna hold them for long,” he said to Rey, watching her get up. “We gotta keep moving.”

He wasn’t prepared for the glare that Rey gave him as she looked up at him.

“Why did you do that Finn?”

He stared at her, perplexed. “What?”

“I could’ve taken those things if you hadn’t stopped me.”

“We were outnumbered, Rey! And there’s no telling if there were more coming.”

“So? I took care of the first two pretty easily.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is!” she shouted.

“You could’ve been hurt, Rey!”

“Seriously? We’re back to this again. I’m not some weak damsel in distress!”

“I don’t think you’re weak. You know that.”

“Then why are you so hell-bent on trying to protect me…”

“Because I made a promise to Luke!!” he bellowed out.

Silence followed that declaration.

“…what?” Rey whispered, her voice cold.

Finn sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He had gone and done it now.

“Before we left, Luke wanted to talk to me,” he decided to go with the truth. “He told me that he was worried about you. Worried that you could lose control of your emotions, especially in a place like this.”

“So he asked you to spy on me then?” she insinuated.

“Wha-no Rey. He asked me to _protect_ you.”

“Oh great. So my father doesn’t even trust me enough to take care of myself.”

“That’s not true! He has more faith in you than anyone. It’s just… Look, Rey, I _saw_ you back there, fighting those things. I saw the look in your eyes. I could _feel_ the dark side flowing off of you. Luke was right to be worried.”

Rey walked right up to him, poking him in the chest.

“Look, Finn. I don’t need you or my father trying to babysit me. I am in perfect control of my emotions.”

“It didn’t look like it back there.”

“Well, I was. And even if I wasn’t, the last person I’d want help from is _you,_ ” she spewed out the last word.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of rocks being blown apart. They turned to see the automatons breaking through the impromptu barrier.

“ _Kriff._ Come on, we gotta lose them.” 

“No! I’m not running. I’m gonna end this,” she yelled, igniting her lightsaber. Finn was powerless to do anything but ignite his blade as the automatons closed in.

The bridge, while fairly wide, was not the most ideal place to try and have a fight. There was very little space to maneuver and one mistake could send them falling off the edge. 

They tried their best to fight off the mechanical death bots. Rey managed to cut the head off of one. Finn stabbed one right in the chest, cutting through the orb and causing it to power down. But no matter how many they cut down, more just seemed to keep coming. It was never-ending. And they were slowly being backed into a corner.

“We’re getting overwhelmed. We need to run!” he shouted. His words didn’t seem to register with Rey. 

He deflected a blast from one of the robots. It shot towards one of the pillars, impacting and blowing away a significant portion of it. He watched as the foundation cracked, sending it crashing down behind the automatons. It destroyed that part of the bridge, cutting off the way back. 

He felt the rest of the bridge shake. It was becoming unstable. Occupied by these thoughts, he was unprepared to be kicked in the chest by one of the robots, sending him flying back and crashing into the ground in pain.

Rey glanced his way for a second, which was all the time that she was allotted by her foes. She sliced another in half and force pushed another off of the bridge. She could feel another surge of anger-infused Force power flow through her. She directed it to her hands, thrusting them forwards and releasing a stream of Force Lighting directly at the death bots. The surge hit them dead on, slowly frying their circuitry. Her satisfaction grew as she watched her enemies be torn apart.

Rey’s mind was clouded. This power, it was like a drug. And she couldn’t get enough of it. With this, she could finally do everything that she wanted to. She could prove herself a better Jedi than Finn. She could live up to her legacy as a Skywalker. She could make sure that what happened on Illsof never happened to anyone else in the universe. She would make sure of it. She would **_build an army like none before and sweep across worlds, destroying corruption and establishing a new ord-_**

Rey shot back as the thoughts started to register in her mind, the force lightning abruptly cutting off. She stared at her shaking hands in horror.

“Whe-where did those thoughts come from? Do I really feel that way?” she questioned herself. It felt as though someone else had taken over her body.

Unfortunately, in her distracted state, she failed to notice one of the automatons charging up another blast.

“Rey look out!” Finn screamed. His plea came a second too late.

She looked up just as the robot fired at her. She threw up the best Force Barrier she could. It blocked the worst of the blast, but it couldn’t stop the shockwave that came from the impact. It sent her flying toward the end of the bridge, crashing right before the exit. 

“Rey,” he thought to himself worriedly. 

The situation was bleak. There were still quite a few more of those automatons left. Rey was down for the count and Finn wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep fighting. He looked at the robots, advancing on them to finally finish them off. He looked at Rey, who was struggling to get back to her feet. His mind flashed back to his promise.

“ _As long as I’m alive, Rey’s always gonna have someone looking out for her.”_

He looked at the unbroken pillar on the side of the bridge. He stretched out his hand, wrapping the Force around it and pulling.

“Come on. Come on!”

With a final tug, he pulled it down, causing it to ram right into the bridge. This destroyed whatever stability may have been left and soon, the entire bridge started to crumble and fall, taking the automatons with it. He got up, racing towards the exit in a bid to make it before it completely collapsed. Just before the ground completely disappeared from beneath his feet, he jumped in a last-ditch effort to make it. He stretched out his hand. But it was no use. He was too far away. 

Just when he thought it was all over, another hand reached out and caught his, preventing him from falling. He looked up, seeing Rey’s face scrunched up with the strain of trying to hold him up. He smiled.

“Oh thank the Force. I thought I was a goner. You’re a lifesaver, Rey.”

“Yeah yeah. Geez, why are you so heavy? I brought up the space pies as a joke but you seriously need to slow down,” she gritted out.

He started chuckling, as did Rey. Their laughing was interrupted, however, by the sound of something cracking. Glancing over, they both noticed the piece of rock that Rey was laying on was slowly starting to break.

“Uhh, Rey. You need to pull me up. Now.”

“I’m trying!” she shouted, breath quickening as continued to try and haul him up.

The rock continued to crack, the sound like a harsh snap directly in Rey’s ear.

“Rey hurry up!”

“I can’t get any leverage!”

Finn looked down into the abyss. A few more seconds and the rock would break sending them both down. He looked back up into Rey’s eyes. He could see determination but more than that, he could see the fear. He once again thought back to the promise he made before they left. Protect Rey. Even if it cost him his life.

“You have to let go,” he spoke up to her.

Rey halted her struggle for a second, eyes wide with shock.

“What.”

“You have to let me go,” he repeated.

“What are you talking about Finn? I can save you.”

“This thing can’t take the weight of both of us. It’s about to break. The only way you’ll survive is if you let me go”

“Arghhh…stop talking Finn. I’m not dropping you to your death. I’m gonna pull you up and we’re gonna go finish this mission,” she said, frantically doubling her efforts to hoist him up.

“Rey…” he breathed softly.

“And after we finish, we’ll go back to the Academy, and Dad will make us both Jedi and you can get me flowers that aren’t poisonous to thank me for saving your ass…”

“Rey.”

“And you can keep annoying me at how quickly you advance and I’ll keep beating you in sparring and we’ll both push each other to the best Jedi we can be…”

“Rey.”

“I'M NOT LEAVING YOU FINN,” she snapped.

Finn was stunned. He could see tears starting to fall from her eyes as she continued to struggle to pull him up.

“I’m happy,” he said, smiling softly.

It was Rey’s turn to be stunned.

“Huh?”

“I’m happy that I got that we both got to go on this quest. It gave us a chance to connect. To become friends. You’re an amazing person Rey.”

“Finn…” she responded quietly.

“And you’ll be an even better Jedi. But that’s only gonna happen if you get out of here alive. And it’s my job to make sure that happens.”

Rey watched, terror filling her tear-stained eyes as Finn loosened his grip, his hand slowly slipping out of hers.

“Goodbye Rey. I hope we can meet again someday. In the Force.”

“No, wait. Don’t…” she cried out.

She lost her grip on his hand. She watched, seemingly in slow motion, as Finn fell, disappearing into the darkness. Her heart stopped.

“FIIIIIINNNNNN!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, KingSkywalker7 back with another chapter. I can't lie, I had a ton of trouble writing this chapter. I had the beginning and the end mapped out but everything in between was a real struggle. I think I re-wrote it about three times and this is eventually what I came up with. I hope the quality is up to the standards of the previous chapters.
> 
> And please don't hate me! I didn't kill off Finn. I'm not entirely cruel. Besides, I hinted at it heavily earlier so you all knew it was coming :) The Next chapter will have Rey dealing with the fallout of seeing Finn seemingly dying as well as her finding out why her anger has been so much harder to control. Also, we find out just where Finn ended up landing.
> 
> As always, please forgive any grammar mistakes.
> 
> P.S. I just wanted to say thank you for all the love you guys have been showing me. Not just on this story but the previous ones as well. I'm just a simple soul who had some ideas that he wanted to write out and you all have been nothing but supportive. I really appreciate that. So this is a shout out to all you and I hope you keep reading! KS7 out.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey wasn’t sure how long she laid there on the ground, looking down into the dark abyss Finn had fallen into. She wasn’t sure when she had gotten up and started running. She didn’t pay attention to where she was going, passing through corridors and rooms, the scenery a blur. Her only thought was to keep running as far from that accursed pit as she could. If she did, maybe she could get away from the nightmare she was currently living.

Eventually, she found herself in a small room. Leaning against the wall, she tried to catch her breath, eventually sliding down to the floor. It was only then that reality set in. Tears started to come out of her eyes. Finn was gone.  


“He sacrificed himself…to make sure I lived.”

The tears started pouring after that, her entire body shaking with sobs. 

This was all her fault. She had refused to listen to Finn when he suggested that they run. She could remember her indignation at that suggestion, her pride refusing to let her see that retreating was the right course of action. The anger clouded her mind, coercing her into fighting a battle that they had no hope of winning. And Finn paid the ultimate price for her mistake.

“That idiot…” she thought to herself. The words held no malice, only sad fondness.  


After their talk last night, Rey had spent most of the morning going over her previous interactions with Finn. As she did, she found it so glaringly clear that she had misinterpreted quite a bit about him. He wasn’t nearly as arrogant as she had made him out to be. Sure, he had confidence, but it was born from working hard to improve himself. And his repeated offers to train with her weren’t because he pitied her, but rather because he simply wanted to help. That was just who he was. They were similar in that way.

She had told herself that once they finished all of this, she would apologize for the way she had been acting over the last few years and maybe see if those offers to train with her were still on the table. She had been looking forward to having a genuine friendship with somebody. But now she would never get that chance.  


**_“Hehehehe. What’s this I hear? Crying?”  
_ **

Rey immediately jumped to her feet, igniting her lightsaber.

“Who’s there?” she shouted out. She was answered by more laughter that seemed to come from all around her. The sound unnerved her. She spun around, looking for the source. “Who are you? Show yourself!”  


**_“If you wish to know more child, come and find me,”_** the voice responded. 

Rey jumped as a doorway opened up on the far side of the room, leading down a dimly lit hallway. Keeping her lightsaber held up in front of her, she slowly made her down the hallway. As she did, she could feel the same force that had been plaguing her ever since their foray through Lunenree Forest starting to comeback. Trying to ignore it, she kept pushing forward, eventually reaching a set of stairs leading down. As she walked down, she felt the pressure in her mind start to increase, getting worse with each step she took. By the time she reached the bottom, the pain was almost unbearable.  


Shaking it off as best she could, she reached the bottom. She found herself in pitch blackness, eerily similar to the chasm that Finn fell into. She cautiously walked forward, her lightsaber the only source of light. As far as she could see, which wasn’t much, the room was empty.

Therefore, she was quite startled when all of a sudden flames roared to life all around her, resting in very elaborate braziers. The golden light provided by the fires gave her a much better look at her surroundings. The room was fairly small. Elaborate drawings lined the wall. They looked very similar to the markings they’d found on the stonework outside. On the sides, in between the braziers, stood more of the automated machines that had attacked them. These, however, made no immediate attempt to try and kill her. 

But more than that, the thing that stuck out to Rey was just how… _vile_ it felt. It was suffocating. And it was coming from a pedestal right in the center of the room. Specifically, the idol that was sitting on top of it. It was an elaborate piece of obsidian in the shape of a symbol that she couldn’t identify. The evil radiating from it was beyond anything she’d felt before.  


**_“Hehehe. So, you have finally arrived.”_ **

“I grow tired of these games! Show yourself!” Rey shouted.  


**_“Very well. As you wish.”_ **

The idol on the table started to shake. A swirl of what could only be described as pure, dark energy appeared in front of her. It brought with it a gust of wind that made the flames dance in the air wildly and forced Rey to bring a hand up to cover her eyes. Eventually, it died down and she was able to see again. And what she saw made her blood go cold.

Standing in front of her was a large figure that easily towered over her. Clad in black robes with blood-red armor covering its arms and chest. A mask that was black as the night with what looked like two horns protruding out the back and sickly yellow eyes. Eyes that made her want to turn and run away as far as she could. She held her lightsaber up protectively, taking a few steps back. She wasn’t sure how, but she just knew the figure had a wide smile on its face underneath the mask as it spoke.

_“_ **_I’ve waited many years for this moment. To finally meet you face to face, Rey Skywalker.”_ **

  
Finn felt like he was floating in the middle of the lake. He could vaguely feel all of his limbs but he couldn’t seem to move his body or open his eyes.  


_“Finn…”_

Finn tilted his head. Was someone trying to speak to him?

_“Finn, wake up”_

There it was again. He was sure that the voice was talking to him.

_“Finn you need to wake up.”_

He was trying. But his eyes felt so heavy.

_“Finn wake up…Wake Up…WAKE UP!”_

Finn shot up, heart racing and breathing heavily. The first thing he noticed was that he felt cold and very wet. Looking down, he saw the reason for that. He was laying on the ground right next to a small lake.

“How did I get here?” he thought, slowly standing up. He felt groggy. Like he had just gone through one of Master Luke’s training sessions. He gave himself a glance over, glad to find that his lightsaber was still attached to his hip and that nothing seemed broken. Satisfied, he tried to recall how he had ended up here.

“I was with Rey. We were fighting…something. Something really tough. And then I was hanging off the edge of something. Rey was trying to help me and then…”

The memories started to rush back to his mind.

“I fell…” he finished. He glanced up, noticing that he couldn’t even see to the top. A fall from a height like that should’ve killed him on impact. His eyes dropped back down to the lake. It must have cushioned his fall enough for him to survive.

“Though I should thank the Force that I didn’t break anything. Even landing in some water could’ve broken a bone or two,” he mused.

He looked around trying to see if there was a way back up. He needed to find a way to link up with Rey. This place was dangerous to wander around even with the two of them together. Alone, there was no telling what kind of trouble they could encounter.

“Don’t look like I’m gonna be able to climb back up from here. Which means I’m gonna need to find another way.”

Looking around, he spotted a small opening over on the far side. 

“Bingo.”

Walking over, he noticed that it was a passageway that led out of the room.

“Guess I don’t have a choice,” he thought to himself as he pulled out his lightsaber and flicked the switch, the purple glow providing just enough light for him to see where he was going. He made his way down the tunnel, senses on high alert, looking for any way that would lead out. But the longer he walked, the more and more lost he seemed to get. It was a maze down here. Every opening he found seemed to lead to two or three more. And every second he wasted down here was another second for something bad to happen.

Coming to another fork in the tunnels, he decided that he would try going left this time. As he started in that direction, he stopped abruptly. He could feel something telling him to instead try the right side path. There was a pressure on his arm, as though someone was trying to pull him. It was the Force trying to guide him. And if there was one thing that Master Luke had always stressed to them, it was to trust in the Force and let it hone their instincts. As long as they did that, they would eventually find themselves on the right path. It was a lesson that Finn adhered to religiously. The Force had yet to lead him astray and he did not doubt that it was pointing him the right way this time.

“I’ll be out of here in no time,” he smiled, the prospect of getting out of the dark and dirty tunnels giving brightening his mood.

  
“Sithspit!” Finn cursed loudly as he ran back the way he came, pivoting to take the turn into the passageway he had initially thought to take. Behind him, he heard a loud screech, which prompted him to pick up the pace.

“That’s last time I let the Force guide me,” he thought to himself as he ducked down an opening to his left.

He knew he was exaggerating. But given the circumstances, he felt the sentiment was more than justified. He chanced a look back, getting a glimpse of the thing that was chasing him.

It was serpent-like. A long body leading up to a head with six beady black eyes and a mouth filled with sharp teeth, big enough to swallow a man whole. And it looked as though it had decided that Finn was the next thing on its menu.

“Sithspit!!” he cursed again as he noticed the creature catching up to him. The tunnels down here were fairly big. Probably made by the thing chasing him actually. But they certainly weren’t large enough for him to turn around and fight. And even if they were, the odds of him winning that fight weren’t exactly high.

“I need to find the exit, and fast.”

The tunnel cut to right sharply and Finn followed, narrowly avoiding a lunge from the serpent as it tried to eat him. Its face now stuck in the wall, it let out another screech as its prey escaped its grasp again.

Spotting an opening up ahead of him, he pushed his tiring legs to go faster. Only a few more feet to go. He burst through, finding himself in a small enclosure. Glancing around he was slightly disgusted to find quite a few…remains laying around. Human remains. He looked upwards, realizing that he was standing at the bottom of another hole.

“They must have thrown people down here to feed to that thing,” he thought, his disgust rising. This was truly an awful place. His thoughts were broken by the sound of his pursuer letting out a shriek as well as the sound of broken rocks crumbling. Seems it hadn’t been stuck for long.

“I might be able to scale the wall and get out at the top.” 

It was the only real plan that he had so he quickly ran over before beginning to hoist himself up. It was hard. There weren’t many places for him to get a grip. Nonetheless, he found a way to make it work. It was funny how easy it was to do that when your life was in danger.

He was able to make it up a few feet before he heard the serpent burst into the room below him. He looked down at the same time that it spotted him. It hissed, making one last desperate lunge for his leg. Finn would later swear that he felt one of the teeth graze him but he was just able to pull it up enough to avoid having it ripped off. He kept climbing, trying to put as much distance between him and the serpent as he could. It gave off one last shriek before it slithered off, probably to look for easier prey. He sighed in relief. Another brush with certain death. Another narrow escape.

“I hate this place,” he dryly thought before continuing his ascent. He hoped Rey was having a better time of it than he was.

  
Rey kept her lightsaber trained on the now named Xuhl, wary of any sudden movements. All of her senses were on high alert.

“Who are you? And how do you know my name?” She questioned.

“My name is Xuhl,” he stated, no longer sounding as though he was speaking directly into her mind. A gravelly voice accompanied his words, slightly distorted because of the mask. “As for who I am. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of a great and powerful dark lord who once ruled over this planet.” 

Rey’s eyes widened as Xuhl paused, his hands held out to his sides.

“No.” she shook her head in disbelief. “No that’s not possible. You were…you were…”

“Sealed inside that wretched idol by your father, _Luke Skywalker,_ ” his voice dripping with disdain. “It’s been my prison for many years.

“How did you escape?”

A dark chuckle was the response. “My dear girl, with the power of the Dark Side anything is possible.” 

He started to circle to room, gesticulating as Rey kept moving, making sure to always keep him in front of her and her blade.

“I’m sure you know the story of how I died. The surge of power from the aftermath of my failed ritual left this place as a hub of pure Force Energy. I fed off of that energy, using it to keep my spirit alive and plan my eventual return. Of course, right as I was about too, _Skywalker_ showed up.”

He paused at this, looking at Rey, their original positions now reversed.

“It was during our fight that I was granted…a vision. Of a young girl trapped on a desert planet. It was you, Rey.”

Rey’s heart skipped a beat the moment the words registered.

“There’s no way. He can’t know about that,” she thought to herself.

“You could imagine my surprise when I felt the connection between you and Skywalker. From everything I know about the man, there’s no way he’d abandon his daughter to such a hellish existence.”

“Shut up!” she shouted. “You don’t know anything about what happened.”

“Hehehehe. True, I don’t know the particulars, but it matters not. What does is that the vision showed me that if I let Skywalker defeat me, he would send you here one day and we could meet, face to face.”

“And what do you want with me?” she asked, already dreading the answer.

“You have the potential to do great things, Rey. I knew it back then and I’ve felt it ever since you came here. You have so much power. I want to help you learn to use it.”

She scoffed at that.

“You have anger. Hate. And yet you refuse to embrace it. I could give you more power than you could ever imagine. I can teach you to use the Dark Side of the Force! Join me! Together we could rule this galaxy.”

“No! I would never join the likes of you. There’s nothing you could _teach_ me. I have all the power I need.”

“Is that why you were unable to save your friend?”

Rey froze when she heard that.

“What did you say?” she whispered, voice trembling slightly.

“He sacrificed himself to save you. All because _you_ were too weak. Surely you know that?”

“Shut up…” Her jaw was clenched so hard that it came out as a harsh whisper. 

Xuhl ignored her, continuing his speech. “How does that make you feel, I wonder? To know that you’re responsible for his death. That you could have saved him had you been stronger…”

“Shut up.” Her hands were shaking, clenched tight around her lightsaber. She could feel her anger rising in the face of Xuhl’s accusations. But she wouldn’t react. She wouldn’t let him manipulate her.

“I’m sure his death was quick. A fall like that would kill most instantly. But what if by some unfortunate stroke of luck he survived? Heavily injured, unable to defend himself? He wouldn’t last long.”

Rey could picture it easily enough. The image was so visceral that she almost felt like throwing up.

“I wonder, how would he have felt in his last moments? Knowing that he was about to die? Would he have been at peace? Or would he have been filled with hate and rage? Cursing the name of the woman that had doomed him to death…”

“SHUT UPPP!!!”

Rey leaped into the air, lightsaber poised to slice Xuhl in two. Unfortunately for her, he was more than prepared for this reaction, his lightsaber igniting and coming up to block the strike. The red blade cast a glow on Rey’s face, matching the enraged expression on her face.

“I’ll kill you!”

Rey launched a furious attack, all semblance of skill abandoned for savage, brutal strikes.

“Yes, that’s it. Show me your power!” Xuhl cackled.

They fought intensely, the sound of their lightsabers crashing together echoing throughout the room.

Rey thrust her saber, attempting to impale Xuhl. But he sidestepped out of the way, pivoting and directing a strike at her back. She was able to turn and block the strike just in the nick of time, but the blow forced her back.

A situation that quickly put her at a disadvantage as Xuhl went on the offensive. Rey was forced into the uncomfortable position of having to be defensive as blows rained down on her. And every time she thought there might be a chance for a counterattack, it was quickly snuffed out.

She wasn’t sure how but as they fought, she slowly found herself backing down another hallway, different than the one she’d entered from. The flourishes of their weapons illuminated their faces and carved heated gashes into the walls. The display of lights was beautiful despite the deadly nature of the fight.

They emerged into another area, much bigger than the last one. It looked like it could’ve been a gladiator arena in a past life. The large circular room had high walls around the edges. Chunks of it were broken and there were pieces of rock strewn all over. Seats extended up behind the walls. And on the ceiling, three large crystals hung in metal brackets, suspended by chains attached to the walls. By some manner of design, sunlight poured in, hitting the crystals and refracting the light across the room, illuminating it.

Of course, Rey didn’t have the time to take it all in, too focused on her opponent. Their fight eventually leads them into the center of the room as they locked in a clash, lightsabers grinding against each other.

“Is this the best you can do? You disappoint me,” Xuhl drawled, looking as though he was having no trouble holding her back.

Rey growled, throwing all of her strength into a shove as she forced him away, giving herself a bit of space. She reached out with a hand, grabbing a sizable rock with the force before launching it at Xuhl, who moved out of the way just as it would have crushed him. Seeing him off balance, Rey picked up another rock and threw it. Only to be surprised when he sent a force wave at it, redirecting it back towards her. She dodged, the rubble crashing to the ground and kicking up dirt. She could hear him laughing as she got back to her feet, lightsaber held in her right hand.

“If this is the full extent of your power, then maybe you aren’t worth my time,” he mused. “I’m sure even Skywalker would be disappointed to see you now.”

Rey clenched her hand tight, nails digging so hard into her palm that it was a surprise she didn’t draw blood.

“Maybe he was right to leave you on that desert rock. You certainly aren’t worthy of carrying that name. A Skywalker could never be as weak as you,” he spat at her.

The insults cut deeper than she cared to admit. Because she’d had those same thoughts. And it was one thing to admit those insecurities to someone like Finn, who hadn’t judged her for it. It was another for it to be mercilessly used against her as a means to tear her down and demean her. 

Ever since they had landed on this planet, she’d often felt something dark trying to guide and coerce her into using its power whenever her emotions would get the better of her. She’d thought it was the influence of the planet or even Xuhl, but as she stood there, feeling that same force, she realized that it was coming from her. It was primal, powerful…and _intoxicating_. 

Just as she did back on the bridge, she directed all of her energy to her hand, feeling it start to pool before thrusting it at her enemy. A powerful blast of Force Lightning shot out, poised to incinerate Xuhl…

Who simply brought up his hand, using a Force shield to block the attack. He smiled as he felt its impact, the strength of it almost enough to break right through his barrier. But more importantly, he could feel the Dark Side swirling in and around Rey. It made him smile.

“ _Finally_ ,” he gleefully thought to himself.

The struggle lasted for a few moments, neither side giving an inch. Unfortunately for Rey however, despite the surge of strength, she lacked the necessary control to keep up her assault. As her control faltered, the strength of the lightning dwindled.

The slip would prove costly as Xuhl took advantage of it, expanding his shield and turning it into a push that redirected the attack back at Rey. Unable to dodge, she was hit right in the chest. It sent her flying back through the air. She landed on the ground hard, skidding a bit before coming to a stop.

Xuhl started to laugh in delight as Rey groaned in pain. Her nerves felt like they had been set on fire.

“Yes! That’s what I’ve been waiting to see. All of that untapped power. You felt it didn’t you?” He spoke as he strode over. “It’s raw and untrained, but that can be fixed.”

He stopped right in front of her, his frame looming large over her. He held his hand down to her.

“Join me, Rey! I can teach you to use the Dark Side of the Force. To control it. I can give you access to more power than you could ever imagine. And you’ll never have to worry about being weak ever again.”

Rey was ashamed to admit that the idea of taking his hand seriously crossed her mind. Ever since she was a child, she’d desired strength. The strength to change things for the better. To make a difference in the world. And for a split moment, she couldn’t deny that the rush of power of the Dark Side had felt good. It was tempting to let go and embrace it, but as she looked at her hand, skin red and already blistering, she was reminded of a simple quote Luke had told her once.

  
_“Rey, you can’t clean the Universe’s wounds with mud.”_

  
He’d said that to her one day after a particularly rough training session. They’d been tasked to use the Force to find him while he hid in the forest cloaking himself. She’d struggled so badly that she’d eventually just started tearing down trees in an effort to find him. She’d succeeded, but the damage was quite extensive. She’d destroyed a decent portion of the forest. Luke scolded her a quite severely and forced her to clean up the mess as well as plant new trees. He’d left her with that parting quote.

At the time, she hadn’t known what he meant, the meaning lost to her. But in this moment, after having given in to the call of the Dark Side and the cold, slimy feeling it left, she finally understood. Power was a quick fix. And the Dark Side was a quick path to power. But you would often leave a trail of destruction much worse than the mess you were trying to fix. And you would likely turn in to everything that you swore you were against.

“Thanks Dad,” she thought to herself.  


She ignored the offered hand, slowly getting to her feet, looking the Sith Lord in the eyes.

“I will never join you,” she spoke, voice strong. “I don’t need whatever strength the Dark Side could have. I’ve seen what it can turn someone into and I won’t let it happen to me. You’re right, I’m not as strong as my father. But I’m a Skywalker nonetheless. And more importantly, I am a Jedi. So you can take your offer and shove it up your ass.”

The entire time she spoke, Xuhl’s body had begun shaking as his own anger began to rise.

“You…insolent little girl!”

Rey could feel the waves of dark energy pouring off him but it did nothing to shake her resolve.

“Fine. If you won’t join me, then I’ll destroy you,” he snarled, bringing his red lightsaber high up. “If I can’t turn Luke Skywalker’s scion, then I’ll have to settle for killing her.”

Despite facing what was almost a certain death, Rey couldn’t find it in herself to be scared. She was done with being afraid. If she was to die, then she would face it head-on, just as she was sure her father would. Just as Finn had done.

Before Xuhl could bring his blade down on her, however, a yell from up above stopped him in his tracks. Turning his head up, he noticed someone falling towards him, a purple lightsaber aimed straight for his head. He brought his blade up to meet it. He succeeded…partially. While he avoided losing his head, the tip of the purple blade caught him across the face, leaving a deep cut. He fell back, roaring in pain. 

The figure landed in a crouch before standing up, revealing him to be a man with dark skin and short hair. A man that Rey knew all too well. A man that she’d been sure had plummeted to his death just a few hours ago. Her eyes widened with shock, not quite willing to believe what they were seeing.

“F-Finn,” she whispered, almost afraid to even speak his name for fear of him fading away.

He turned to her, a characteristic smile plastered across his face.

“Hello there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, KS7 here. It's been a long...(checks the calendar and grimaces) 7 weeks since I updated this. I am really sorry about that. 
> 
> I got hit with a really bad case of writer's block, coincidentally right when we all went on lockdown. So I had nothing but free time to write and I for the life of me couldn't. And then I started playing some video games I hadn't had a chance to get to and then FF7 Remake came out so not only was I spending a lot of time playing that but I also got a bunch of story ideas for it so I was working on that and blah blah blah here we are. 
> 
> But I am glad to say that Chapter 6 is finally finished. I do hope the quality still stands up to the previous chapters. We should be back on track now. I won't promise to have a chapter every week because you know...life, but I can certainly promise that it shouldn't ever be longer than 2 weeks and it definitely won't be almost 2 months.
> 
> As always, all feedback is appreciated and please do forgive any grammar mistakes. I swear no matter how much I go over this I can never catch all of them. 
> 
> P.S I could not resist the homage to the great Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end lol.


	7. Chapter 7

Rey was shocked. Finn was dead. There was no way anyone could’ve survived a fall like that. And yet there he was, standing right before her. Before she knew it, she was walking right up to him, placing her hands on his face.

“Ummm Rey…” he said, confusion in his voice and a blush on his cheeks.

“Is this real?” she whispered.

His face scrunched up in confusion.

“Is this real?” she repeated. “You’re standing in front of me, right? This isn’t some sort of illusion?

He could hear the pleading tone in her voice and see the fear in her eyes. As if she was terrified that he was going to fade away at any second. 

He brought his hands up, wrapping his fingers around her wrists. Closing his eyes, he reached out with his mind, trying to connect it to Rey’s. 

She was shocked when she felt his probe, but she opened up her defenses, allowing him to come in. She gasped as she got a rush of emotions. All coming from Finn. Happiness, Fear, Anxiety, Caring. And so many other emotions that she couldn’t decipher that Finn experienced whenever they interacted. This wasn’t exactly the best time to try and process what it all meant, but the most important thing was that she could tell that it was all _real._ Which meant that Finn was real. And that this wasn’t some fake projection created by Xuhl to torture her.

“This is real Rey. I promise,” his voice was soft but firm, enhanced by a small smile. She returned it with one of her own, taking comfort in his words.

“How are you still alive!?” came the enraged voice of Xuhl, interrupting the moment, hand still held to his face.

The two Jedi-to be both turned to him, stances indicating that they were more than ready to continue fighting.

“Death and I don’t get along all that well. So I try to avoid her as much as I can,” Finn quipped, earning him a growl from the Sith Lord.

“Your impudence irks me,” he gritted out, slowly getting to his feet. “I suppose it matters not how you survived. Only that I make sure it doesn’t happen again. Perhaps I’ll make the young lady watch as I slowly drain the Life Force out of her friend!”

Rey made to dash at him, not willing to let that comment go. However, she was stopped in her tracks by Finn, who held his hand out in front of her.

“Don’t Rey. He’s just trying to rile you up and make you lose control again.” 

“I know, I know,” she grumbled, willing herself to relax just a little bit.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you both.”

There was a shift in the room as Xuhl said this. Both Rey and Finn could feel dark energy flooding in. It gathered around him, similar to Rey’s first encounter back in the room with the idol. They could see the wound on his face start to heal, sealing itself with a hiss.

“I’ll show you how devastating the Dark Side can be. And once I’ve finished with you, I’m going to find Skywalker and complete my revenge by killing him!” he bellowed, the energy flow dying, leaving his yellow eyes glowing.

This did nothing to shake the resolve of either Rey or Finn, who stepped forward and brandished their lightsabers.

“I don’t think so,” Finn started

“We’re gonna put a stop to you here and now,” Rey finished.

Xuhl started to cackle and both the padawans geared themselves up for what was sure to be the hardest fight that either of them had been in.

Luke looked up from where he’d been overseeing morning training from the students.

“Somethings wrong,” he thought to himself, a slight frown forming on his face.

He had long since learned to understand these random and seemingly inexplicable feelings as the Force trying to warn him. It had saved his life and the lives of his friends countless times. And right now, it was warning him that his two favorite pupils were in danger. Which was not to be unexpected considering where he’d sent them. But he couldn’t help but worry that this was something that could end terribly bad. 

“Master, is something wrong?”

He turned in the direction of the young padawans, giving them a smile

“Everything’s fine, let’s move on.”

As he got back to overseeing the training, one last thought went through his mind.

“May the Force be with you my students.”

Ashall was currently sitting in the makeshift camp, keeping an eye out for anything dangerous that might be lurking around. It had been some time since Rey and Finn had headed up the mountain and while there was still light left in the day, it wouldn’t last long. 

“In fact,” she thought to herself as she looked up at the sun's position. “Probably only got a few hours before it hits the horizon.” 

She hoped those two returned soon. She didn’t like going anywhere near the forest when the sun was shining bright. It was an entirely different, and much worse, experience trying to navigate it at night. A death wish was probably a more accurate way to describe it.

A wry chuckle escaped her lips at that thought. That was a pretty good summary of what trying to survive on Illsof was like. A giant death wish. But she wouldn’t change it for anything. It was the only home she had ever known and despite the challenges, it had made her into the woman she was today. Besides, there were a few decent spots that still existed on the planet.

“Maybe I can convince Finn to visit a few with me,” a sly grin taking up residence on her face before she started laughing.

“Oh, who am I kidding? It’s pretty clear those two have got something going on,” Ashall sighed, not even able to make herself feel upset about it. Finn was handsome, but it was clear that his heart was already taken.

He didn’t even try to hide how much he cared about Rey. You could see it in his eyes every time he stared at her. As if the girl with the peculiar three bun hairstyle was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. She didn’t think it was too much of a stretch to say that he was in love with her.

And as for Rey, the girl obviously had some sort of feelings for the dark-skinned boy, even if she didn’t quite realize it. Ashall wasn’t oblivious to the looks she got whenever she flirted with Finn. She was like a little girl with a toy. She didn’t want to play with it, but she didn’t want anyone else playing with it either. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. Not that she needed to be jealous. She didn’t have to worry about another woman coming in and taking Finn’s attention. The boy was devoted to her and her alone.

She laughed again as she turned to grab her knives, securing them to her chest. She needed to find dinner, which would probably be stew again. Hopefully that didn’t bother the two of them that much. Options were limited after all.

“Who knows, maybe I can flirt with Finn some more. It’s probably not right, but the face Rey makes is so worth it.”

Besides the sounds of the fire crackling, silence was the only companion Ashall had as she walked off in search of food.

Finn grunted as he skidded across the ground before transitioning to his feet, sliding a bit before he came to a stop next to Rey. His breathing was heavy as he tried to recover his energy. Across from him, Xuhl stood, lightsaber held by his side and looking no worse for wear than he did when they had started fighting. This wasn’t for lack of effort on their part though. Every time they managed to inflict some kind of cut on him it healed in an instant.

“Any ideas on how to beat this guy?” Finn questioned out loud.

“Besides what we’re already doing? None at all,” she responded.

Before they could strategize further, Xuhl dashed at them with his lightsaber held high. The attack forced them to separate. The Sith Lord chose to go after Finn, who was forced on the back foot, doing his best to block and divert the deadly strikes.

As he did, he couldn’t help but berate himself for not having tried more to develop a more offensive style of fighting. Normally, he’d be happy to fight defensively. It was a great tactic for exhausting your opponent, causing them to become sloppy and leaving them open for a counter-attack. But like Master Luke had told him, one day he’d run into an opponent for whom that was not a viable strategy and unfortunately, today was that day. Xuhl was a level above anything Finn had faced before and it took every last bit of his concentration and skill just to keep himself from losing an arm. 

Luckily, he was granted a reprieve in the form of Rey coming from behind, blade poised to cut Xuhl in half. He turned to block the strike, But this left Finn free to go on the offensive himself, and just like that, the tables were turned. It was Xuhl who was now forced to defend as the two padawans attacked. 

They were perfectly in sync with each other, a side effect from all of the duels they had fought against each other. Wherever her yellow blade made to strike, his purple blade wasn’t far behind to attack from another direction, trying to catch their opponent off guard.

And yet, Xuhl seemed to be more than capable of holding his own against the two of them, constantly intercepting their strikes. Finn angled his lightsaber to try and take off Xuhl’s head, the Sith Lord’s red blade raising up to block it just in the nick of time. He rolled with the strike, using the momentum to twist out of the way of a follow-up attack from Rey aimed at his legs. He stopped a few feet away from them, cackling.

“Oh, I do hope you have more to offer than that pitiful display. Skywalker must be losing his ability if you two are the best he has to offer.”

“Shut up! We will defeat you,” Rey shouted, bringing her lightsaber up, Finn following suit.

Xuhl’s laughter trailed off, leaving a dark look on his face.

“Come and try,” he whispered, but they heard him loud and clear.  


Rey moved first, running towards the Sith Lord, Finn following right behind her. The fight continued, neither side able to turn the battle completely in their favor.

Rey could see a red lightsaber aiming for the top of her head but she paid it no mind, Just like she knew he would, Finn was there to protect her, blocking the strike. She attempted to take advantage of this, trying to slice into Xuhl’s side. Unfortunately, he was more than prepared to deal with this, turning the strike away with nothing more than a simple bat of his lightsaber. 

As they alternated strikes, Rey could feel herself starting to get tired. The long drawn out fight was starting to take a toll. This manifested itself in the slowing down of her reactions. She was unable to spot Xuhl sticking his hand out and shooting Force Lighting at her. Despite having been hit by it before, she was still unprepared for the pain as she screamed, her body getting thrown backward.

“Rey!!” Finn exclaimed worriedly as he watched her writhe in agony on the ground. 

“You’re still fighting boy!”

His attention was quickly forced back to his opponent. With Rey out of the picture for the moment, Xuhl was free to focus entirely on Finn. The fighting slowly moved away from Rey toward the center of the room.

Finn barely managed to divert an overhead strike to the side, only to be caught off guard by a backhand to the face from Xuhl. He stumbled back, his head dazed. He was given no respite however, immediately having to bring his guard up again. He tried to disarm the Sith Lord but his attempt was easily swept away.

Jumping back, he picked up a large rock with the Force, flinging it at Xuhl, only to watch him easily slice it in half, the two pieces landing with a thud on either side of him. He tried it again, only to get the same result.

“Is that really the best you can offer? Surely you can do better.”

The taunt irked Finn, mostly because he wasn’t sure that he did have any better ideas. They had all seemed to dry up in the face of this monster.

Xuhl seemed to be getting faster and fast as their duel continued, the red blade a blur that was difficult to keep track of. Finn desperately tried to defend himself, sweat dripping down his face, but it was becoming a losing battle. His skill and experience simply couldn’t hope to match up to his foe. 

Eventually, his guard slipped up. He tried to parry a thrust but he was too slow. While he was able to keep himself from being impaled through the stomach, the blade still made contact with his side. It cut deep, the pain lacing up and down his body. It forced him to drop his lightsaber. Xuhl followed it up by cutting across the back of his left leg. He fell to the ground, no longer able to support his weight. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air and Xuhl’s chuckles rang throughout the arena as he took in his defeated opponent.

“You have some skill boy, I’ll give you that. But you were never a match for me,” the Sith Lord gloated.

Finn could see his lightsaber laying just a couple of feet away. He reached out for it, but before he could pull it towards him, a dark boot smashed down, crushing his right hand.

“Ahhhhh!!”

Across the way, Rey was struggling to get to her feet. The effects of the lightning were only just beginning to wear off.

“Damn it!” she cursed in her mind.  


Finn let out a painful cry as he found himself pulled into the air before he was flung at high speed towards the wall of the arena. He impacted with a crack before he hit the floor face first. He didn’t move.  


“FINNN!!”   


Rey watched as Xuhl stalked towards the fallen boy, intent on finishing him off once and for all. Gaining a surge of strength from somewhere deep down, she leapt to her feet, sprinting towards the Sith Lord. Seeing Finn’s lightsaber, she called it to her left hand and ignited it, the purple blade shining brightly.  


Xuhl turned around just in time to block her attack, the extra saber adding enough strength that it forced him to take a step back. Rey pressed the attack, trying to keep him on the back foot. 

Her assault was furious. She had only ever really practiced using tow lightsabers once before. Suffice to say, it hadn’t ended well. But under the circumstances, she’d find a way to use them effectively. And use them effectively she did. She battered the Sith Lord’s defense, weaving the saber’s in a deadly dance.  


She sent a Force Push at Xuhl that he mostly blocked before she followed it up by leaping into the air and bringing her blades down on top of his head. At least she would have if he hadn’t dodge at the last moment. He retaliated by firing another blast of lighting at her but she was more than prepared for it this time. She crossed the lightsabers in front of her, blocking the lighting before she redirected it off to the side where it destroyed another part of the arena wall. She dashed at him again, the fight renewing with even more intensity.  


Finn blinked his eyes open as he slowly regained consciousness. His entire body hurt and his head felt like someone had taken a hydro spanner to the back of his head. As the fog started to clear, he became aware of the sound of lightsabers crashing against each other. Looking over, he could vaguely see a yellow and…purple lightsaber clashing with a red one. As his vision came back to him, he saw that it was Rey wielding both of their lightsabers against Xuhl. And she seemed to be holding her own. At least until she stepped on a piece of rubble and lost her footing. Falling to one knee, she was only just able to bring her arms up to block a strike poised to spilt her from head to toe. 

“This is where you die spawn of Skywalker!” Xuhl bellowed, trying to force his lightsaber down on Rey’s head. She struggled to keep him at bay as the deadly blade inched closer to her face.  


Finn felt his worry grow. Rey needed his help but with his injuries, there wasn’t much he could do. He could barely even stand, let alone fight. He looked around, trying to spot anything that could be of use. Looking up, he noticed one of the large crystals that bathed the room in light. A crystal that both Rey and Xuhl happened to be situated right under. It was then that Finn had a truly terrible idea.  


“Then again, it’s probably not even in the top five of terrible decisions I’ve made today alone,” he mused as he stretched out a hand towards the crystal, calling on the Force. It was so massive that there was no way he could bring the entire thing down. But if he could just break off a piece of it…

It took every last bit of his strength, but his efforts were rewarded as the crystal started to crack. Just a little bit more and it would come crashing to the floor. Just when he felt like he had no more energy left to give, it finally snapped, the piece of blue crystal falling fast towards the unaware fighters below. A predicament he quickly remedied by signaling his partner.

“Rey look out!!!”  


Rey saw from the corner of her eye that Finn had his hand stretched out above her. Glancing up, she could see what he was warning her about. A large piece of crystal was falling right down on top of her and Xuhl, poised to crush them both. Xuhl hadn’t seemed to notice, so hellbent on killing her he was.

In an amazing show of dexterity, she managed to slide out from underneath the Sith Lord, who stumbled from the sudden lack of force to push against. She sprinted away, diving the final few feet she needed as the crystal crash down right on top of him, the sound like thunder as the ground shook from the impact. It kicked up large amounts of debris, the pieces of stone and rock raining down all across the room.

Rey tucked herself into a ball and covered her head with her arms, just in case any rubble landed on her. Once the ground stopped shaking and the last sounds of rock hitting the floor faded away, she finally felt comfortable enough to get up and take a look at the damage.

There was no sign of Xuhl anywhere. He must’ve been buried beneath the crystal that was now lodge deep into the floor. She breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Force that was finally over. She heard a groan off to the side and remembered that Finn was over there. And probably in a lot of pain.  


“Finn!”

She ran over, bending down and rolling him over to his back. He let out a grunt of pain as the movement aggravated his wounds.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly as she looked him over. “Are you alright?”  


“You mean besides the fact that I can smell my side cooking? Or that I can barely feel my left leg? Or maybe that I’m pretty sure I might have a concussion because I can see three of you right now? Not that that’s a particularly bad thing. The universe could use a few more Rey’s.”

She punched him in the arm.

“Owww. Injured person here.”

“Shut up. This is not the time for your terrible jokes.”  


“Does that mean it’s time for my good ones?”

Rey ignored him as she assessed the wound on his side. It wasn’t pretty. The skin was burnt black, standing out even against his already dark skin. Luckily, there wasn’t any bleeding. That was the nature of any lightsaber wound. It was usually a pretty clean cut. Normally, they’d just slap a bacta patch on it, wait a day or two and then everything would be fine. But they had elected not to bring their packs with them down into the temple. A huge mistake it turns out.

“Ok, I’m gonna wrap this up so that it doesn’t get infected. At least until we get back to camp and then we can put some bacta on it. Should probably do that with your leg too. Can’t do anything about the headache though.”  


“That’s fine. It’s not that bad,” Finn replied. Not that Rey believed him. But now wasn’t the time to argue. “Got anything to wrap…”

Rey was already tearing the sleeves off of her tunic. She ripped one down the middle until it was just a long piece of fabric and wrapped it around his side. Finn let out another groan when she tightened it. This was the first serious lightsaber wound he’d ever had and if he had his way, it would be the only one. She did the same with the other sleeve and tied it around his leg. She nodded once she was finished, satisfied with her basic first aid efforts. She handed him his lightsaber as she stood up.  


“Alright, we need to grab the idol in the other room and then get the hell out of this place. Here, give me your hand.”

He waved her off.

“It’s fine, I can do this. No problem.”

“Can you even walk?”

“If it means getting out of here? I’ll figure out a way. I’ve had enough of this place to last me a lifetime,” Finn quipped as he attempted to get up. He managed to get to his knees before using his right leg to push himself fully onto his feet if a bit unsteadily.

“See, no issue at all,” Finn smiled, feeling triumphant. At least until he tried to take a step with his left. Pain shot up his leg and he would’ve fallen back down to the ground if it weren’t for Rey catching him.

“Seems like it might be an issue if you ask me,” Rey said, cheekiness in her tone as she grinned at him. She wrapped his arm around her shoulder and slid her’s around his waist, letting him lean on her as they began walking towards the exit.  


Finn looked away from her, a small pout on his face. One that Rey staunchly refused to admit was kinda cute. Maybe. Just a little bit.

“Yeah well, no one did ask you.”  


Rey laughed at that as they slowly kept moving.

“I wish Dad had told us there was gonna be an ancient evil Sith Lord lurking on this planet.”

“I’m sure Master Luke had his reasons. Besides, it wouldn’t have been much of a test if he told us _exactly_ what to expect.”

“And _I’m sure_ that when we get back I’m gonna kick his butt for putting us through all of this. Or better yet, I’ll make him buy some new parts for the ship I’m trying to build.”

“You’re building a ship? Since when?”

“Since forever, duh. Everyone knows about that. Maybe if you spent less time in the library you’d know about it too.”

“And maybe if you spent _more_ time in the library, maybe you’d have passed Luke’s last exam.”

“Why you little…”

“ ** _Going so soon._** ”

Rey and Finn stopped dead in their tracks, a cold shiver running up their spines.

Turning around they could see a vortex of dark energy forming. From within, they watched in a horror as a boot emerged, followed by a full body, clothed in dark clothes and armor. A person they thought they’d ridden themselves of.  


“No…thats not possible,” Finn whispered.

It was Xuhl. They’d seen him get crushed just minutes earlier. And yet there he stood, looking just as he had when Rey first encountered him.  


“You should be dead!” she yelled, her heart pumping furiously.  


“Hahahaha. Didn’t you hear me before? This is a nexus of Dark Side Force energy! And I am in control of it!” Xuhl cackled.

A visible column of dark energy started to swirl around the outskirts of the room. It dimmed the light considerably, bathing them in darkness. The yellow eyes of the Sith began to glow as well as the swirl got faster, picking up the wind. Both of the padawans were forced to cover their eyes.

“And as long as I am connected to it, you can’t defeat me! I am invincible!”  


Rey and Finn continued to cover themselves as debris from their battle began to sweep around the room.  


“We have to do something!” Finn called out to Rey.  


Before Rey could even respond, they were thrown backward as the wind picked up even more. They landed with a hard thump. Rey shook her head, trying to get rid of the whiplash that came with sudden high-speed movement. She looked to see how Finn was doing and saw him still on the ground, holding his side. She crawled over to him.

“Finn are you ok?”

A pained groan was the only response she got.

“This is where you die!”

Rey watched as he got closer and closer to them. She took another glance at Finn, who wasn’t in any condition to keep fighting. Knowing what she had to do, she got up to prepare to face her enemy one last time. Only to be halted by a hand grabbing her wrist tight. She followed the hand back up to Finn’s dark-colored eyes.

“Finn what are you doing?”

“You need to run Rey.”  


Her brow furrowed, not fully understanding what Finn was trying to do.

“What are you talking about?”

“I can buy you some time. Not a lot, but enough for you to escape.”

“Finn what are you saying? I’m not leaving you!”

“You have too!”

“I won’t! Why are you so hellbent on trying to sacrifice yourself for me!?”

“Because I promised Luke!”

Whatever retort Rey had planned was immediately silenced at Finn’s revelation.  


“…what?”  


Finn sighed as he started to explain.  


“Before we left for this mission, Master Luke asked me to look out for you I told him I would. And even if he hadn’t I would’ve. I can’t let you die here, Rey. Even if it comes at the cost of my own life. You mean too much to Luke, to _me_ , to let that happen.”

He finished softly, eyes focused on the ground. He didn’t want to see the anger that he knew he would see in her eyes. She didn’t like it when anyone tried to protect her. It made her feel too much like a “damsel in distress”. Even if someone had good intentions, she simply couldn’t accept it. It was to his surprise then, when he felt a hand touch his cheek, guiding him to look at Rey. Who didn’t seem angry at all.  


Had this been just one week earlier, Finn probably would’ve been right in his assumption. Hearing that her father had asked someone to look out for her would have set her off. Especially if that person was Finn. But as she looked at him, Rey couldn’t find it in herself to be mad at either of them. If anything, she was mad that Finn didn’t seem to value his own life. She spoke, hoping that her words came across the way that she wanted them too.

“Finn. _Thank you_. Truly. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner on this mission. You’ve saved my life twice. But now it’s my turn to protect you. And I promise _neither of us_ is going to die here. Ok? Please trust me. Just this once?”

Finn closed his eyes and laughed softly, trying to keep himself from shedding a tear. Rey was right. He should trust her. She was more than strong enough to defeat Xuhl. She just needed him to believe in her.

“I _do_ trust you, Rey. I always have.”

Rey nodded her head. Soaking in his visage one last time, she turned to face Xuhl, taking steps forward. As she did, the swirl of dark energy cut Finn off, leaving only her and the Sith Lord to face each other.

“I can’t wait to rid the world of the Skywalker’s once and for all. And it starts with you!” Xuhl declared.

Rey paid his words no mind as she ignited her lightsaber. She wasn’t afraid. Xuhl would lose here, of that she was certain. The Force was on her side and more importantly, she had people that she had to make sure she made it back to. As these thoughts ran through her head, she started to glow, golden light shining around her visage.

Xuhl began to gather the dark energy into his hands, his yellow eyes a stark contrast to the blackness that surrounded him. Once he’d gathered enough in his hands, he launched it at the scion of Skywalker, hoping to eliminate her once and for all.

  
“Die!”

Rey raised her left hand. She wasn’t sure why, but she knew that it was the Force guiding her. As she did, the glow around her got even brighter. It started to focus itself around her hand before finally being released as an energy pulse. The gold light met Xuhl’s dark energy, completely obliterating it. It hit Xuhl, who collapsed to a knee in pain. He growled before he tried to fire another blast of lighting at Rey, only to be shocked when nothing happened.

“What!!?”

He tried it again, only to be met with the same result. Another wave of light hit him, completely incinerating his left hand. He waited for it to regenerate, but it never did.

“What is going on!?” he thought to himself, unable to comprehend his inability to heal himself. He searched for his connection to the Dark Side, only to be met with nothing. It was as if he’d been cut off from it.

The golden light continued to pour off of Rey, piercing the surrounding darkness. Her eyes glared fiercely and as Xuhl looked into them, he felt an emotion that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Fear.  


“No. No no no. NOOOOOOO!”

There was nothing he could do but scream as his entire body started to burn away. But it was more than just physically. He could feel his very soul, his essence, being destroyed. It was as if she was purging the entire temple of any darkness that may reside inside. And he was right at the center of it. 

No such thoughts were going through Rey’s head. She was operating purely off of instinct and the guiding hand of the Force. And it was telling her to keep pushing just that little bit more. 

Unbeknownst to her, the waves of golden energy passed through much more than just the room or even the temple. It passed beyond the walls and spread out across the planet. Illsof was a planet that carried a deep connection to the Force and it latched onto the light, taking nourishment from it.

As the last of his spirit faded away, Xuhl could only rue his defeat at the hands of a Skywalker, again. He’d miscalculated just how strong the little girl was and he paid the price for it. His screams echoed as he was destroyed before they too faded, leaving Rey standing alone, breathing heavily as the glow around her slowly dissipated. She glanced down at her hands, trying to comprehend what just happened.

“What was that?”  


It took her a second to register that she hadn’t been the one to say that out loud. She turned back towards Finn, who was no longer cut off by the darkness.

“What was that glow?”

Rey blinked once, then twice, before answering.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Is it over? Is Xuhl gone?”

“…I think so.”

A small smile appeared on Finn’s face as he started to chuckle. A chuckle that grew and grew until he was full-on laughing. Rey followed after him, her laugh joining his as the two padawans realized that they were still alive. That despite how close to death they had come, they’d pulled it off and won.

Finn let his head hit the ground, staring up at the ceiling as the laughter died down, though a wide smile stayed plastered across his face.

“I can’t believe we did it.”  


Rey walked over, falling to her knees and breathing deeply.

“Yeah, I know.”

They rested in silence for a moment, taking everything in before Rey finally found the strength to stand up.  


“Ok. Let’s go grab that idol and get out of here.”

A low groan escaped Finn’s mouth.

“Ughh. Do we have to? The ground is really comfortable right now.”

Despite his words, he offered no resistance as Rey grabbed his arm, hauling him up to his feet, making sure to support him.  


“Yes, we do. I've had enough of this place and the sooner we grab what we came for the sooner we can leave and never come back.”  


Finn laughed as he leaned on Rey, trying to avoid putting too much weight on his leg.  


“Yeah, can’t disagree with you on that.”  


They slowly worked their way back towards the hallway the Rey had entered from, Finn igniting his lightsaber so that they could see. They emerged in the room that Rey had initially encountered Xuhl in. The sight of the automatons made him tense up, though Rey was quick to reassure him that they weren’t a threat.

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure Xuhl was the one controlling them. I doubt they’ll start attacking us.”

She led them right up to the table where the obsidian idol sat. They both stared at it. It was Finn who spoke first.

“Sooo, this what we came here for?”  


Rey nodded her head.

“….”

“….”

“….”

“….”

“You don’t wanna touch it do you?”

“Not even for 20 extra portions at lunch.”

“Can’t say I disagree with you on that.  


“Yeah.”

“….”  


“….”  


“Same time?”

“Same time.”  


They both reached out a hand tentatively, wary of something going wrong. They stopped right before they touched it, looking at each other.

“On three?” she suggested.

“Yeah.”  


“Ok…One…”  


“Two…”  


“Three!”

They grabbed the idol, waiting for the pain. When after a few minutes nothing happened, their apprehension turned to relief as they both let out huge breaths.  


“I guess that’s mission complete,” Finn remarked, a small smile on his face.  


“Not quite…” Rey responded, taking a look around. “We still need to find a way out of here.”  


“Oh well that’s easy. We’ll just head back the way…we…came.”

At that moment, both of the young padawans realized that they had a major problem on their hands.

“Sithspit.”

Ashall was busy stirring the pot that held their meal when she heard something approaching from behind her. Dark had just about fully fallen and hearing any kind of sound besides that of the fire crackling wasn’t a good sign. She tensed, wary of it being a predator attracted to the smell of food. She relaxed, however, when it became clear that what she was hearing was footsteps. Which meant that Finn and Rey were back. She stood up, a smile on her face as she turned to greet them.

“Well, it certainly took you guys long enough. I was beginning to worry about you…”  


Her voice trailed off as she took in the state of them. From the looks of it, they’d been in a fight. And a serious one at that. Their clothes were torn and cuts and bruises littered their bodies. Though it seemed that Finn had gotten the worst of it, considering how heavily he was leaning on Rey, who was struggling to keep him upright. Not to mention the makeshift wrapping that circled his stomach and leg. A fact that quickly had her running over to help, grabbing on to his other side.

“Thank you,” Rey grunted out.

“What happened to you guys?” she asked as they led Finn over to a nearby log. They sat him down so he could lean back against it, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth as he finally got to rest. Although it was short-lived as Ashall began unwrapping the cloth around his stomach, looking to inspect the damage.

“We got into a fight,” Rey finally responded.

“No shit. No offense but you look terrible.”

Rey waved her off. 

“None taken.”

Ashall got to the final layer of the wrap only to be stopped by a hand on her wrist. She looked up at Finn, who was breathing heavily.

“Please be gentle.”

Nodding, she carefully pulled the rest of the wrap off, letting out a soft gasp as she got a look at his wound.

“Who did this to you?”

“A deranged spirit of a Sith Lord with a lightsaber,” Rey called out from behind her. She was rummaging through her pack, looking for something.

“This is a lightsaber wound?” Ashall asked, reaching out to touch it, only to pull her hands back immediately as Finn let out a painful cry.

“Sorry.”

Rey rushed over to them, two dressings that held a weird, bluish substance inside held in her hand. Bacta patches. In the other hand, she held a water canteen.

“Here,” she passed the patches over to Ashall, who immediately began applying one to the wound on his side. Meanwhile, Rey opened the canteen, putting it up to Finn’s lips.

“Drink.”  


He didn’t need to be told twice as he began to gulp down mouthfuls of water. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was until now. He drank almost the entire thing before he had his fill, his breath coming out a bit easier.

“Better?” Rey asked, screwing the canteen shut.

“Yeah. My head is still spinning a little bit though.”

“I’ll take a look at that in a moment,” Ashall piped up as she finished with his side. “But first, I’m gonna need you to lean over a little bit so we can get to your leg.”

It took a few minutes, but Ashall and Rey got his leg taken care of as well, They also took the bandages and made sure to wrap up the batch patches well. Satisfied, Ashall began to check out his head.

“I think he might have a slight concussion,” Rey told her, sat on the ground drinking out of her own canteen.

Ashall couldn’t argue with her as she spotted a rather sizable bump on the back of his head. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m amazed he made it this far without passing out.”

“Well, I am a full-fledged Jedi now. Passing out is beneath me now.”

Both of the ladies let out laughs at that.

“If you say so,” Ashall said. She took some more of the bandages and wrapped it around his head. “Either way, I don’t think either of you is in any condition to make a trek back through Lunenree. Which probably isn’t a good idea anyway, considering it’ll be dark soon.”

Finished patching him up, she walked over to the pot that still had a small fire going underneath it. She grabbed a bowl, filling it up and adding a spoon before bringing it over to Finn. She repeated the process for Rey.

“Eat up and get some rest. It would’ve taken us most of the day to get back even if both of you were a hundred percent. It’s gonna take even longer now so you’re gonna need as much energy as you can get. We leave early.”

They both nodded their heads in thanks as Ashall walked over to her bedroll, turning in for the night.

Neither Finn nor Rey talked as they devoured their meal, both too tired to think about anything other than eating and then getting some sleep. Within 20 minutes, they had both finished were wrapped up in their bedrolls and fast asleep.

The trek through Lunenree forest had indeed taken much longer this time. While Finn had woken up feeling a little better, he still couldn’t put much weight on his injured leg, leaving Rey and Ashall to take turns on helping him cross the often uneven terrain. One thing that had surprised them though, was the complete and utter lack of dark creatures that usually roamed around. While they weren’t always visible, both Rey and Finn could always feel their presence just on the edge of their peripherals’, lurking. That wasn’t the case this time though. It was as if they had all magically disappeared. Not that they paid it too much mind, outside of being grateful. A fight was the last thing they wanted.

They eventually emerged back onto the side that held the old speeder. Once all three of them were secured, Ashall began the long drive back to the village. By this point, the sun was already beginning to set again, meaning that it would most likely be dark by the time they arrived. Finn was asleep again while Rey quietly stared out at the passing landscape. This was how they passed the time for most of the ride. Watching the landscape quietly pass by. It was only when they were close to the village that Ashall spoke up again.

“Hey, we’re almost there. Might wanna wake Finn up. At least until we can get him into a proper bed.”

Rey nodded her head in agreement, turning to where Finn was slumped over. She shook his arm, rousing him out of his slumber.

“Finn. Hey Finn, wake up. We’re almost back.”  


His eyes slowly blinked open, being greeted with the visage of Rey staring down at him, a soft look on her usually hard face.

“What’s up?” he sleepily responded.

“I said we’re almost back. Which means you’re close to being able to sleep in a real bed.”

He nodded, sitting up and letting out a loud yawn. 

They continued speeding through the wilderness, finding themselves on the familiar small path leading directly to Ashall’s village. The sun had set long ago, but it didn’t seem to bother her as she maneuvered the speeder. They parked right on the edge of the village. Rey left her and Finn’s packs attached to the back. They could retrieve them later. They walked in between the small huts, the night fairly quiet, eventually making it to Deonor’s abode.

Ashall burst in without so much of aa a knock, surprised to find her father sitting at the table, a cup of tea in front of him.

“Dad! What are you doing still up?”

Deonor let out a soft chuckle at that.

“First off, that’s really your first question after you come, unannounced I might add, into my house. Second, call it..intuition, but I had a feeling you would be arriving soon and I wanted to be awake when you did,” He replied to Ashall, his gaze shifting over to Finn. 

“I take you found more than just the idol down there?”

Rey nodded her head.

Deonor shook his head, standing out of his chair and walking over to the stove. He grabbed the still hot kettle that sat on top and poured another cup of tea.

“Your friend needs rest, but make sure he drinks this first. Should make it a bit easier for him to sleep.”

He handed the cup to Ashall, who took it and motioned for Rey to follow her to Finn’s room. They were gone for a few minutes, leaving Deonor to his thoughts.

When they returned, Ashall collapsed into another chair at the table, a large sigh coming out of her mouth.  


“Whew, it’s been a long day.”

Deonor couldn’t help but smile as he watched his daughter slump down into the chair. Ever the dramatic one she was. Just like her mother. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rey walk up to them. The poor girl was clearly exhausted herself.

“Thank you for letting us stay in your home. We appreciate it,” a slight bow accompanied her show of gratitude.

He waved her off.

“Oh, it’s no problem, my dear. I’m just glad you made it back. Would you like a cup as well?”  


She replied with a soft yes, taking a seat at the table while Deonor prepared her drink. He handed it to her and she took a small bit of pleasure from the warmth that it provided her hands. She took a small sip, savoring the flavor. 

“I don’t mean to pry, but could you tell us what happened in the temple?”  


Rey shook her, taking another sip before launching into the story of everything that had happened once she and Finn left Ashall. It took her some time to get through it all but by the time she’d finished recounting the showdown with Xuhl, both Deonor and Ashall were looking at her with awe.

“Wow, I can’t believe you guys went through all of that. You must be really strong,” Ashall gushed, a small blush of embarrassment appearing on Rey’s face.  


“She’s right Rey,” Deonor interjected, pulling her attention away from Ashall’s praises. “What you and Finn did is nothing short of amazing. And I can’t thank you enough for finally ridding this planet of that horrible being. We’ll forever be in your debt for doing that. Thank you.”

The sincerity of his words had Rey speechless.

“Ummm…you’re welcome.”

“And as a show of gratitude, we can make you guys a grand feast. Well, maybe not done but we can at least try to do something special for you…” Ashall started, her mind already racing with ideas.  


“Actually, we’ll probably need to leave in the morning.” Rey interrupted  


“Awww so soon? But you just got back,” the blue-haired girl pouted.

Rey laughed, an apologetic smile on her face as she answered Ashall.

“Sorry, but we do kinda have a time limit on when we have to be back. And I’d rather not cut it too close.”  


“We understand,” Deonor replied, before his daughter could try and convince her otherwise. “We’ll be there to see you off in the morning. You should go get some sleep. That goes for you as well my daughter. As you said, it’s been a long day.”  


They all stood up, Deonor ushering the two young ladies outside, bidding them goodnight and closing his door softly. They walked the short distance to Ashall’s small house, where they quickly found themselves following Finn into a deep slumber.

“You sure you guys can’t stay a little longer?”  


Ashall watched as Rey and Finn finished packing their bags, preparing to depart. Behind them, their ship was already primed for takeoff. Her father stood next to her, seeing the young duo off.

“Sorry. I wish we could but we really do need to go,” Rey said apologetically.

“But don’t worry. We’ll be sure to drop by and visit,” Finn added. He was doing better, in so much that he could stand and walk without needing to lean on someone. His body was still sore though and the headache hadn’t seemed to go away completely yet.

“Yeah well, you’d better.”

Deonor chuckled as he watched their interaction. His daughter was by far the youngest person in the village which meant that she didn’t have any friends. At least, none that were her age. It was nice to see her forming a genuine connection with both of the young Jedi.

“Calm down Ashall. I’m sure you’ll get the chance to see your new friends soon enough. And as for you two, once again, thank you. You’ve done us a great service, one we will never forget.”  


“It was no problem, sir. We’re just happy we were able to help,” Finn spoke, bowing, Rey following his lead. A bow that he was taken out of as Ashall crashed into his chest, hugging him tightly.

“Have a safe journey home Finn,” she whispered to him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, promising that he would.  


Rey couldn’t prevent the tinge of jealousy that welled up inside of her. And even more frustrating, she couldn’t figure out where that jealousy was coming from. She was shocked, however, when Ashall released Finn and immediately wrapped her up in the same type of embrace. It took her a few moments to register before she brought her arms up to encircle the girl.

“Whatever’s going on between you two, make sure you sort it out. I think you two would be great together. But I won’t hesitate to step in if you don’t want him. He’s a great guy.”

The words were whispered in her ear and before she even had the time to register them Ashall had already pulled away. That was their cue as Finn walked up the ramp to the ship, Rey right behind him, still trying to decipher Ashall’s words before shaking her head, deciding she could figure it out later. They walked to the cockpit, Rey sitting down in the pilot chair as Finn took his place as co-pilot. Doing one final check, she flipped the switch to close up the ramp before beginning her takeoff, raising the ship into the air. They slowly turned, the window giving them a final glance of Deonor and Ashall, who both raised a hand and waved. Returning the salute, she pushed them forward through the air, watching as the clouds eventually gave away to the dark expanse of space. She engaged the hyperdrive once they were far enough away, the ship bursting forward as the familiar blue tunnel came to life around them. She leaned back, making sure the auto-pilot was working before turning to Finn.

“Alright, we are on our way.”

Finn nodded his head before yawning, the sound loud in the small space. 

“Finn you should go get some more rest. You’re still hurt. Besides, it’ll be a while before we make it back to the Academy.”

“Yeah you’re probably right,” he said, rising from his chair. Before he made his way to the bunk, he clasped her on the shoulder. “But only if you promise to get some sleep yourself.”

She shook her head in exasperation, but she acquiesced nonetheless.

“I will be right behind you. Promise.”

Sure that she would keep her word, he squeezed her shoulder before walking out, leaving Rey alone. She waited for almost twenty minutes, watching the stars fly by and simply allowing her mind to wander. She still tried to decipher the meaning of Ashall’s parting words.  


“What did she mean by ‘whatever’s going on between you two," she thought to herself. There wasn’t anything going on between the two of them. They were just…partners. Maybe even friends, considering what they went through. Deep in her subconscious, something was telling her that she knew exactly what Ashall was referring to but she chose to ignore it. 

Deciding it was a waste a time, she got up and headed to the back of the ship. There were two small bunks in the back. She intended to walk into one of them, slide into bed, and try to catch a few more hours of sleep. Only to be surprised when she saw light peeking out from under the door to Finn’s bunk. She walked up to it, the slab of metal sliding open to reveal Finn laying the bed, covers pulled up but still wide awake. His eyes turned to her as she walked into the room.  


“Can’t sleep,” she asked, a small smile on her face.

He returned it, laughing softly as he motioned for her to grab the lone chair in the room. She did, pulling it up and sitting right next to the bed.  


“I guess not,” he chuckled, turning on his side so he could look directly at her. “Mind telling me a story.”

She laughed. “I’m not sure I have any stories of dragons or knights in shining armor if that’s what you’re looking for.”

He laughed again before he suddenly got quiet, his face taking on a more serious and, somber expression.

“Well, I uhhh…did have a question actually, if you don’t mind me asking.”  


Seeing the nervousness that settled in his eyes had Rey worried, but she decided to throw caution to the wind. He’d more than earned a question or two.

“Sure, ask away.”

Finn gathered his thoughts, trying to figure out how best to bring it up.  


“Well, you see…back when we were fighting Xuhl. Or right before that actually, when you were asking me if I was really standing in front of you. When we…connected, for lack of a better word. When we did that I saw…memories. And I’m pretty sure they were yours. I remember seeing this little girl on this desert planet. And she seemed so…lonely.  


Rey felt her heart skip a beat as Finn talked, already slightly dreading his line of questioning.  


“I guess my question is, was that you? And what happened? I thought you grew up with Master Luke at the Academy?”

He waited with bated breath as Rey remained silent, a myriad of emotions running across her face, the most prominent being hurt and fear. He saw what might be considered some unshed tears forming in her eyes.

“Oh Rey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry, honestly. I just saw the memories and of course, I couldn’t help but be curious and now I’m not doing anything but making you cry and…”

“Finn,” Rey said softly, bringing his blabbering to a halt. “It’s fine. I…I don’t mind telling you. Honestly, it’d probably be a good thing to talk about this with someone besides my family.”

She looked down, rubbing her hands together as she tried to figure out where to begin. Finn waited patiently, giving her his undivided attention.  


“You see,” she started. “I didn’t always know my dad. In fact, for the first thirteen years of my life, I thought my family had left me behind.  


Finn remained silent as Rey told her story, entirely focused on her words.  


“I grew up on a planet called Jakku. A real junkyard of a backwater planet. It was rough. There was a despicable man called Unkar Plutt who ran the place. If you wanted to eat, drink, hell…just _survive_ , you had to scavenge for him. He would trade food portions for things that you found for him. It was a little different for the kids who couldn’t work. We were provided with the bare minimum that we needed. But once you were old enough, you were expected to leave and do the same thing. And that’s what I did.”  


She stopped here, her hands curling tightly around her thighs.  


“It was awful Finn. I remember finding this old AT-AT and making a home out of it. I would make a scratch on the wall for each day that I was there. For each day that I survived. And no matter how many scratches I made, I always held hope that my family would come back for me. It was the only that kept me going most of the time. And it was hell, but I refused to let my faith waver.

Her hands were trembling at this point as all of the painful, lonely memories started to get dragged back up from the recesses of her mind. She felt Finn cover her hand, his eyes were filled with concern. Normally, she would’ve thrown him off but this time, she took comfort in his support.  


“Anyway, that’s how most of my life went. Scavenging, trying my best to survive one more day. Until one day, my dreams came true. A ship came down to the surface and on it was Luke. I remember him walking up to me, his eyes filled with tears and he just hugged me tight. And even though he didn’t say anything I just knew. This was my father. Can you imagine? The greatest Jedi in the world was my father. It was everything I’d ever dreamed of and more. He’s raised me ever since.”

Another pause as she fought the urge to burst into tears. She didn’t want Finn to see her like that. Of course, at that point, Finn chose to interject with another question.

“What about your mother? Where was she?”

That almost made Rey release the floodgates on her emotions. She tried to steel herself, preparing for what was probably one of the worst things about her story.

“Well…you see, that’s the main reason why I grew up the way I did. My mother she was…she was…m-murdered, by an assassin.”

Finn’s eyes widened with shock as his grip on her hand tightened. Rey found herself twisting her hand and lacing it with his, tethering herself to him so that she didn’t get lost in her past. She continued, the pain seeping into her voice.

“They were trying to break my father. They figured the best way to do that would be to take that which he loved most. After they…killed my mother, they took me. I was just a small child at the time. They sold me to Plutt. That’s how I ended up on Jakku. And that’s where he eventually found me. I don’t remember much about her but I remember the stories Luke told me. How much he loved her. How much she loved him. And how much they both loved me. Even as young as I was, Dad knew that I was going to grow up just like her. Sometimes I catch him staring at me, almost as if he’s seeing her in my place.”

She looked up at Finn, smiling sadly, their eyes locking on each other.

“And that’s pretty much how my story ends. Luke saw my potential with the Force and he made me join the Academy so he could teach me. He always says it was his and my mother’s greatest dream to watch me become a Jedi just like them. That’s why I train so hard to be strong. So that I can live up to them. You know…” she trailed off as she finished. She’d never told that to anyone, but it felt…nice, to finally get everything off of her chest.

Finn was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words.

“Thank you. For sharing with me. I can relate to it, in a way. I didn’t know who my birth parents were either. I still don’t actually. I was adopted when I was young and my parents raised me. Sometimes I wonder who they were. What they were like. And despite everything, I can’t help but feel like they truly did care for me, even if they gave me up. And one day, I’ll find out the reason why.”  


He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, fixating on it before she looked up, his eyes full of determination.

Look, Rey, I know there’s nothing I can say to make up for all of those years you spent alone. And there’s nothing I can say that can take away the pain of losing your mother. I can’t change any of that. But I _promise you,_ as long as I’m around, you’ll never have to be alone again. I swear. If you don’t have anything else, you’ll always have me.  


She tried her best, but she couldn’t stop the tears running down her face. She wiped them away, but she couldn’t keep her voice from choking up, the sincerity of his words hitting her right in the stomach.

“T-Thank you, Finn,” she managed to choke out. “That means more to me than you’ll ever know”

They smiled at each other, content to bask in the quiet until Finn let out another yawn. Despite his attempts to stay awake, he was obviously exhausted.  


“You should get some sleep,” Rey said, moving to stand up, only to be stoped as Finn refused to let go of her hand. “Finn I need to sleep too you know.”

He grunted, not quite ready to let her out of his presence. 

“Then sleep here,” he mumbled quietly.

Under any other circumstances, she would’ve probably thrown a fit, but as it was, she was too tired to do anything but shuck off her cloak and slide under the covers in front of him on her side. She intended to keep a certain amount of distance between them, only to let a small gasp as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close enough that he could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Once the initial shock wore off, Rey couldn’t deny that laying in his arms, she’d never felt more comfortable and…protected, in her life.

“Goodnight Finn.”

“Night Rey,” he mumbled back, his arm tightening ever so slightly.   


The last thing Rey recalled thinking as she finally drifted off to sleep was that she could get used to this. Lying in the arms of someone who genuinely cared about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (KS7 nervously shuffles out) .....Hehehehe, h-h-hey guys! L-Long time no see. How's everyone doing? Hopefully not being too mad at me for saying that it wouldn't be another 2 months before I posted the next chapter and then it actually being another 2 months before I posted said chapter. Because that would just be insane right hehehe...
> 
> But no seriously, I apologize for the long absence. Life has been pretty crazy and I've struggled to find the motivation /inspiration to finish this story. But I kept pushing and kept writing a little bit whenever I did come up with some ideas and this is what I managed to churn out. It's by far the longest chapter I've ever written so hopefully, that makes up for my absence. And I hope that it still lives up to the standards of the previous chapters and that you enjoy it. The next one will be the Epilogue.
> 
> As always, please forgive me for any spelling/grammar mistakes.


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